Penn downs Drexel as Jordan Dingle scores 21 points

Powered by a strong first half, Penn won the Battle of 33rd Street for the 17th time, topping Drexel, 64-59, on a rainy Tuesday night at the packed Daskalakis Athletic Center.

Jordan Dingle finished with a team-high 21 points for Penn (1-3), followed by Clark Slajchert with 16. Lucas Monroe finished with 11 rebounds, nine coming in the first half.

Standout big man Amari Williams led the way for Drexel (1-1), finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds. Luke House, Jamie Bergens, and Justin Moore each had nine points.

Penn started the game strong, jumping out to an early lead and doing most of its damage inside. The Dragons kept it within one or two possessions early, but an 11-0 run highlighted by a Dingle dunk gave the Quakers a 27-14 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half.

» READ MORE: Kayla Spruill hits the game-winner in the Explorers’ win over Drexel

Drexel made a bit of a run toward the end of the first half, cutting its deficit to seven on a Coletrane Washington three-pointer, but the Quakers ended the half with back-to-back buckets to take a 33-22 lead.

The Quakers went up by 15 early in the second half, but the Dragons didn’t fold, responding with a 13-3 run to cut their deficit to just five with 10 minutes, 42 seconds left. The Dragons kept things close for the remainder of the game, pulling within two in the closing minutes, but Penn was able to hold on for the win.

“Hard-fought game,” Drexel coach Zach Spiker said. “Thought we dug a little bit of a hole there at the half. I think you can point to a handful of possessions that make a difference. … I haven’t seen very many 25% three-point shooting nights in our time here. But I know that 9-for-20 [at the free-throw line] is not anything we’re accustomed to.”

With Drexel trailing by just two and holding the momentum, Slajchert responded in a big way for the Quakers. The 6-foot-1 guard drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:25 remaining, giving Penn some breathing room.

“They’ve been going under their ball screens all game, so I knew I was going to have it,” he said. “… They were giving it to me, so I knew when it came down to it, I could just kind of calm down and step behind the three and then knock down a shot.”

Before Slajchert’s big shot, he had hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give Penn an 11-point advantage with just over seven minutes remaining, momentarily silencing a rowdy DAC crowd.

Drexel will host Division III Arcadia on Friday before heading to Estero, Fla., for the Gulf Coast Showcase, where the Dragons face Texas-Arlington in the first round. Penn has another tough test, playing West Virginia on the road on Friday.