Autumn Invitational: Anthony leads Syracuse past Drexel; Penn State dominates LaSalle

It was a tale of two halves for the Drexel Dragons (1-3) when they faced the Syracuse Orange (3-0) on Saturday at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia in the second game of the Autumn Invitational.

In the first half, Drexel battled and kept the game close, trailing 37-32 at halftime. 

However, after shooting 50% in the first half and scoring 32 points, Drexel went cold, shooting 20% in the second half and scoring only 18 points, and they would fall to the Orange by a score of 80-50.

Syracuse outscored Drexel 43-18 in the second half.

With his father, Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, and his former high school teammate, 76ers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, in attendance, Syracuse freshman guard Kiyan Anthony led all scorers with 18 points.

Donnie Freeman and Naithan George added 13 points apiece, and William Kyle III had eight points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks.

Eli Beard, who had 13 points, was Drexel’s only player in double figures.

Syracuse coach Adrian Autry was full of praise for Anthony’s performance against Drexel.

“​He’s ​been ​playing ​great,” Autry said. ​”He’s ​a ​guy ​that ​can ​score ​the ​ball. ​ ​I ​thought ​today ​his ​scoring ​was ​on ​display ​today. ​I ​thought ​he ​did ​a ​really ​good ​job. ​I ​think ​the ​one ​thing ​that ​is ​very ​impressive ​about ​him ​is ​that ​​he ​doesn’t ​take ​pressure ​off ​the ​defense… He ​can ​really ​finish ​in ​the ​lane, ​and ​then, ​if ​he ​gets ​an open ​shot, ​he ​can ​knock ​it ​down.”

It was clear that the Orange was just too big, too athletic, and too talented for Drexel, and we saw that in the second half in Philly.

What’s Next:

On Tuesday, Drexel hosts NJIT, while Syracuse is at home against Monmouth.

Penn State rolls LaSalle:

In the first game of the Autumn Invitational, Penn State(4-0) defeated LaSalle 83-69(1-3).

After a three by Jaeden Marshall, the Explorers led 12-9 with 13:30 left in the first half. However, Penn State would go on a 20-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 29-12 lead. The Nittany Lions led by as many as 18 points, and after the run, Penn State was in cruise control the rest of the way.

Penn State freshman guard Melih Tunca led the way with a game-high 20 points(8/9 FG), Freddie Dilione V had 16 points off the bench, and Kayden Mingo added 14 points.

For LaSalle, Jerome Brewer Jr. and Ashton Walker had 13 points each; Eric Acker and Marshall chipped in with 11 points apiece.

What’s Next:

On Wednesday, Penn State hosts Harvard, and LaSalle will go home to face Big-5 foe Villanova.