Foul play dooms Red and Blue

Given the impending presence of that pumpkin-spiced tryptophan cloud that is Thanksgiving, it’s hardly surprising that the Penn basketball team had fowl on the mind during its 97-94 double-overtime loss to Delaware Saturday night.

Except this time, it was the birds cooking the Quakers, not the other way around.

The Blue Hens (read: point guard Jawan Carter) made effective use of copious amounts of free throw opportunities throughout both extra periods, which yielded 11 of 15 Delaware points after regulation.

Meanwhile, the Red and Blue couldn’t seem to find their free throw stroke.

The Quakers shot 5-for-14 in OT from the charity stripe after going 29-for-36 in the first 40 minutes.

“We just gotta step up and hit ’em,” Penn coach Glen Miller said. “We had our chances.”

Chances they did have, but even more chances did they give to Carter.

Throughout 48 minutes of frantic play — including every minute of the second half and both overtimes — the native Pennsylvanian racked up 26 attempts at the foul line, 19 of which he made.

Part of the reason for this huge number was the loss of Quakers point guard Zack Rosen, who fouled out just before the second extra period.

With freshman Malcolm Washington now charged with the task of stopping Carter, the junior cruised to a 5-for-8 foul shot mark in the final five minutes.

“Obviously, different players show you different looks,” Carter said in response to a question about driving against Washington versus driving against Rosen. “I knew once … it came down to it that the ball was going to be in my hands.”

Carter had zero field goal attempts in overtime, driving to the basket and picking up fouls at a rate that would make Dwyane Wade proud.

The Red and Blue Crew certainly couldn’t help stop him, despite chanting “a**hole” at him throughout the night.

But it’s hardly fair to lay the blame on Washington — who was playing in just his third college game — or the Crew, which looked undermanned and way too sober.

Carter’s made foul shots wouldn’t have been so fatal for the Quakers if they had made a reasonable amount of their own during the extra periods.

But with no one guarding, and the Red and Blue Crew to back them up to boot, 9-of-14 Quakers’ shots failed to connect from the line.

“We have to do better than 34-for-50 [on total free throws],” Miller said. “Tomorrow’s another day.”

Another day to probably spend practicing foul shots.

Or else, the Quakers may look like turkeys all the time, not just after late November games in which they lose after leading by 18 points.

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