Yanic Konan Niederhauser fuels Penn State past Drexel

Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 18 points to guide visiting Penn State to a 75-64 win over Drexel in a Saturday matinee from Philadelphia.

Konan Niederhauser also had six rebounds and three blocks, while Ace Baldwin Jr. chipped in 15 points and six assists for the Nittany Lions (10-2).

Nick Kern added 13 points, Puff Johnson had 11 and Zach Hicks pitched in with eight points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Yame Butler (16 points) and Kevon Vanderhorst (14) were the top scorers for the Dragons (8-5), who shot just 5-of-23 from 3-point range. The Nittany Lions weren't any better at 3-of-14, although Penn State knocked down 14-of-15 attempts from the foul line.

After trailing by eight points at halftime, Drexel got within 58-56 on Butler's layup with about 8 1/2 minutes left. However, Fred Dilione V and Kachi Nzeh answered with buckets to halt the Dragons' surge.

With just over four minutes left, Drexel once again got within a bucket as Cole Hargrove dunked to make it 62-60. But Konan Niederhauser and Baldwin each made a pair of free throws to fuel a quick 8-0 burst that pushed the lead back to 10.

Konan Niederhauser added a layup off a feed from Baldwin later in that push before Kern made it 70-60 with his layup with a hair over two minutes left.

The Nittany Lions led by as many as 13 down the stretch.

The game was close throughout the first half until Penn State began to create some separation in the final five minutes of the opening session.

With the Nittany Lions leading 26-25, Dilione knocked down a jumper to ignite a 9-0 run. Konan Niederhauser's three-point play continued tilting the momentum in Penn State's favor, and then he added another bucket shortly thereafter.

Johnson's two free throws pushed the lead to double digits (35-25) for the first time, and the visitors went on to lead 37-29 at the break.

Kern and Konan Niederhauser led all scorers with 11 points in the first half.