Junior guard Reese McMullen attempts a layup against Columbia on Mar. 2.
Credit: Tuna SagdanPenn men’s basketball may have lost their chance at an Ivy Madness spot, but their season isn’t over yet — a fact that they proved with a 84-72 win over Columbia in their last home game on Saturday.
Despite having nothing to play for on paper, the Quakers (11-17, 3-10 Ivy) shut down the Lions (13-13, 4-9 Ivy) at the Palestra in an effort to add a sweet victory to an otherwise sour season. Junior center Nick Spinoso tallied 23 points in a dominant performance on both ends of the floor and senior guard Clark Slajchter dropped 22 to power the Quakers to their third Ivy League win of the season.
“No one understands how much it means to win. It may not mean a lot to others, but it means a lot to us because we put a lot into this, the kids have gotten better and are working extremely hard, and a win is a big deal,” coach Steve Donahue said.
While the game started off on relatively even footing — with Columbia maintaining a slight lead early on — Penn turned on the gas with 11 minutes to go in the first half. After a several minute scoring drought, Slajchert and sophomore guard Cam Thrower nailed back to back threes, and Spinoso slammed in a monster putback dunk off of a Slajchert miss to get the crowd on their feet.
With just over four minutes left in the first, Slajchert sliced and diced his way through the Lions defense and swished a pure right-handed floater, giving him 12 points on the game and enlivening the Quaker faithful. However, they weren’t focused on the floater itself, but rather the significance of it: that made basket was Slajchert’s 1,000 career point.
“It’s been such a crazy run for him because of Covid to start with, and then a severe injury during COVID…Obviously [his ankle injury] was a crusher this year because I think he was [going to have] one of the historic seasons for a guard in Penn history,” Donahue said. “It’s amazing what he gets done at his size and he’ll play somewhere next year and make one team real good.”
Being able to accomplish this feat at the Palestra was especially sweet for the team and Slajchert himself, who is preparing for his time with Penn to end.
“I think that the program did really right by me. I hope they’ll look back on it and think that I showed up every day and worked hard and honored the amazing opportunities that I’ve had here,” Slajchert said.
After a media timeout gave Slajchert and the rest of the Quaker team a chance to embrace such a monumental career accolade, Penn picked up right where they left off. To close out the half, the Red and Blue shot 9-10 from the field, including a filthy step back three from Slajchert to finish a perfect 4-4 from three in the half. Before heading to the locker room, Spinoso hit a buzzer-beating put-back to give the Quakers a 46-34 edge.
Coming out of halftime it was again a back and forth affair with Penn managing to hold on to their relatively narrow lead until they turned on the jets and continued to make shots at a pace that the Lions could not keep up with — evidenced by their solid 56% shooting clip.
When the clock expired and the Quakers secured the win, all eyes were on Slajchert, who was immediately doused in water by his teammates and surrounded by kids wanting the star’s autograph.
“I don’t think they know that I’m not that famous,” Slajchert said.
While his career at Penn was up and down due to injuries and a global pandemic, no one can take away what Slajchert managed to accomplish.
This win may not change their fate, but it gives the team the chance to end the season strong with a win against Princeton on March 9 — something that they have not been able to pull off since 2018. Even more importantly, it gives the team hope that they can bounce back from a disappointing campaign and turn it into something positive next season.
“I feel great about [next year]. The beauty of what happened this year is that you should reap the rewards of all the experiences,” Donahue said. “If anything, this has motivated us to get back to where Penn basketball is used to being.”
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