Newbill scores 20 as Penn State beats Drexel
It was just over a year ago – Dec. 14, 2013 to be exact – that Penn State blew a 56-36 lead with 8:36 to play and lost to Princeton 81-79 in overtime.
The lesson from that game was put to use Saturday when the Nittany Lions faced Drexel at the neutral PPL Center.
With D.J. Newbill scoring 20 points and Brandon Taylor adding 14 with 11 rebounds, Penn State won its ninth-straight game, 73-68, after squandering most of a 20-point lead.
The Nittany Lions (11-1) made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute to hold off the Dragons (2-8), who lost their fourth straight.
Penn State coach Patrick Chambers wasn’t worried about deja vu.
“As a head coach, I’ve learned from my mistakes,” Chambers said. “And I wasn’t going to let that happen. I was gonna use my timeouts and I was gonna get the ball in the right hands and I was going to (substitute) offense-defense. We have a bag full of positive plays that are gonna help finish the game out.”
Penn State led 58-38 on a Newbill jumper with 7:23 left before Drexel made a final run. Tavon Allen hit the first of two-straight 3-pointers at 6:58 and Freddie Wilson followed with a third to fuel a 15-0 run that cut it to 58-53 with 4:13 left.
The Dragons played frantically, forcing six PSU turnovers in eight possessions after the Lions had only six turnovers in the first 33 minutes.
Newbill hit two free throws, Donovon Jack had a tip-in and the Dragons never got closer until a 3 by Rashann London with 1 second left.