PRINCETON, N.J. — With just under three minutes on the clock, junior Jack Eggleston’s ferocious dunk brought Penn fans to their feet.
Though Eggleston’s slam did not ultimately affect the final result in a game that had no postseason implications for the Quakers, it was perhaps emblematic of the energy that the Penn squad brought to Ivy play in an otherwise dull season.
After ending the first half down by 26 points, the Quakers once again fought their way back into Tuesday night’s contest late in the second half before succumbing to Princeton, 68-56.
The win brought the Tigers (20-8, 11-3 Ivy) their 100th all-time victory over the Red and Blue, though Penn still leads the 222-game series.
Led by strong shooting from sophomore Douglas Davis, Princeton jumped ahead of the Quakers early. Taking advantage of Penn’s poor shooting and sloppy defense, the Tigers racked up a 23-0 run over the course of just seven minutes.
“We just didn’t play with a lot of composure,” sophomore point guard Zack Rosen said of his team’s first-half performance.
Davis, who was left scoreless when the two teams first met Feb. 16, racked up 16 points as his team entered the locker room ahead 40-14.
However a speech from interim head coach Jerome Allen lit a spark under the Quakers’ feet.
“I can’t tell you what I said to them at halftime because I don’t think it’s appropriate,” he joked after the game. “I have kids old enough that can read a newspaper.”
Whatever Allen said to his team, the Quakers came out strong in the second half, scoring 42 points on 14-for-26 shooting. After scoring only one point in the first stanza, Rosen, who was given unanimous first-team All-Ivy honors Wednesday, tallied 17 points to lead Penn in scoring.
But in the final minutes of the game, Penn fell into its old patterns, missing shot after shot, while the Tigers’ capitalized with accurate shooting from the charity stripe.
Princeton converted 27 of its 35 free throw attempts, including 10-for-12 shooting in the last two minutes.
The loss seemed to be a fitting end to what Eggleston referred to as a “frustrating” season.
Rosen agreed, remarking that the team’s first-half performance against Princeton was representative of “the story of [Penn’s] season.”
Throughout conference play, the Quakers have not only been plagued by poor starts but have struggled in the second-half to secure the lead.
While the team closed out its home season March 6 with a 78-68 defeat of last-place Dartmouth, it’s match against Harvard (21-7, 10-4) on March 5 was another iteration of a similar story.
Penn gave up a seven-point lead in the game’s final five minutes, handing the Crimson a 67-66 win.
The Quakers ended the season in a three-way tie (with Columbia and Brown) for 5th in the Ivy League.
While Eggleston believes the losses will simply make the Quakers work harder over the summer to prepare for the next season, Allen isn’t looking too far ahead.
When asked what his future would hold after the Princeton game, he responded “In about 20 minutes, we’re going to get on the bus and go back to Philly … I’m going to get in my car and go home. Spend time with my kids, and then eventually fall asleep.”
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