The Highlanders became the low scorers as Penn men’s basketball opened up its season with a 58-57 win. Down by as much as 17 in the second half, the Quakers (1-0) took the lead in the final 10 minutes of the game.
“Honestly, there was just a lot of things that weren’t going our way today,” senior forward/center Nick Spinoso said. “I’m just proud of the guys. We figured out a way to win.”
The Quakers welcomed six new players of their own onto the team — four freshmen and two transfers. During his time at the Red and Blue Scrimmage, junior transfer guard Dylan Williams and junior transfer forward Ethan Roberts quickly became two dominant players on the court. Those performances were echoed tonight, with Williams and Roberts scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively.
NJIT’s (0-1) made their first jumper by guard Jake Goldberg two minutes into the match, and it was a great sign of things to come. The Quakers were off to a sloppy start, with most of their plays ending with missed layups and free throws. The Highlanders were able to force frequent turnovers, with guards Tariq Francis and Sebastian Robinson leading the charge.
The lack of control forced Penn to call an early timeout with 10 minutes still left to go in the first half. Francis’ and Robinson’s individual performances each outscored the entirety of the points made by the Quakers. With five minutes to go in the half, the duo had combined for 19 of NJIT’s 30 points. This offensive duo was a formidable problem for the Penn defense, as their ability to make deep three-pointers only widened NJIT’s lead.
Going into halftime, the Quakers were facing a 12-point deficit. The stats were also looking grim: The Quakers made only 11.1% of their three-point shots, which was dwarfed by NJIT’s 41.7%. If the Quakers wanted to win, they needed something to change — and quickly.
The Quakers started the second half with Roberts capitalizing on a foul by going 3-for-3 on free throws, marking a shift from the missed free throws by the Red and Blue in the first half. But this momentum quickly died out when the Highlanders offense delivered a string of three-pointers to amass a 15-point lead.
It was Williams’ turn to step up on offense, and he did so accordingly. After a three-pointer off the assist from Spinoso, Williams quickly became the man to watch on the Quakers offense. Six minutes into the second half, Williams was leading the Quakers on offense with 16 points. But Williams struggled to maintain that success, missing a string of layups and free throws as the half progressed.
A push in the last 10 minutes of play was all the Red and Blue needed to overcome the deficit. Spinoso reentering the game with just over nine minutes left to play ultimately proved the difference. Despite a missed free throw, he quickly closed the gap with a layup to bring the score to 46-52. On the other end of the court, Roberts forced a shot-clock violation and made two ensuing free throws, which cut NJIT’s lead to just two.
“It was an obvious team effort,” Spinoso said. “[We] had some big shots down the stretch. It was great. It was everybody.”
After a blocked Williams shot dropped into the hands of sophomore guard Sam Brown, the crafty guard found an open lane to tie the game up for the first time all night. After a back-and-forth segment of play, with under three minutes left in the game, Roberts made a layup, giving the Quakers the lead for the first time all night with the score at 55-54.
The final two minutes were marked by a defensive stand that allowed the Quakers to protect their lead. A layup by Roberts put the Quakers up three, but an and-one by Sebastian Roberts tied the score with a minute left. The game was looking like it would enter overtime, but a foul by Francis on Ethan Roberts gave the Quakers a chance to seal the deal in regulation time.
Ethan Roberts delivered to give Penn a one-point lead with one second left to play. An airball from a Highlanders player as the clock flashed zeros meant that the Quakers had clawed their way to their first win of the season.
“I would have been appalled had [that shot] gone in, but it felt good,” Roberts said. “I’m so glad our team persevered and we were able to come out with it.”
Penn men’s basketball will return to the court as it faces off against UMD Eastern Shore at the Palestra on Nov. 7.
“I’m just proud of the guys,” Spinoso said. “I’m excited to get to work with them every day.”
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