Sophomore guard Sam Brown attempts a jumper against Harvard on Feb. 22.
Credit: Grace ChenFor the second year in row, Penn men’s basketball’s hopes for glory have come to an end at the hands of the Crimson.
Just after a triumphant night in which the team cut its five-game losing streak, Penn men’s basketball fell 79-78 to Harvard (10-14, 5-6 Ivy) after Harvard guard Evan Nelson’s shocking three-pointer sent the game to overtime. This loss officially eliminates the Quakers (7-17, 3-8) from Ivy League tournament contention.
“I’m just really proud of our group. We have a tremendous spirit. I know people look at the quantitative results of this team, but I couldn’t be more proud of the effort,” coach Steve Donahue said, reflecting on the tough loss.
To start off the game, Penn won the tip-off but were unable to accomplish much more in the first minutes.
Harvard opened the game with a jumper from senior Louis Lesmond. For almost three minutes, the game was scoreless until the Crimson made a second basket. This lead only continued to grow, with Penn going on to miss its first five shot attempts. With 15:30 left in the first half, Harvard led 7-0.
The Quakers didn’t score their first basket until the fifth minute, with a layup from sophomore forward Augustus Gerhart. But Harvard didn’t let up and responded with a 9-0 run. Harvard would go 6-9 from the field compared to Penn’s 1-9.
The Quakers broke their drought with layups from senior guard George Smith and freshman guard AJ Levine, as well as a putback by sophomore guard Niklas Polonowski, but they still trailed with a monstrous deficit of 21-8.
With 10 minutes left in the frame, two of Penn’s usual top scorers — junior guard/forward Ethan Roberts and sophomore guard Sam Brown — were not yet on the board.
At the 6:21 mark, after being subbed in, Brown made a layup that marked a change in this trend. Brown then drained another shot on Penn's next possession as well as a free throw to complete a three-point play.
This was not quite enough for the Quakers though, as Harvard continued to consistently score on the other end. Penn’s defense especially struggled on the perimeter, leaving the Crimson open for three-pointers.
The Quakers attempted to hold on — making a few plays on both ends of the court. Closing the half with a three-pointer from Roberts, his first points on the board, left the Quakers entering the locker room down 40-28.
The second half opened with a Harvard three-pointer, but unlike the start of the first, the following minutes were largely dominated by Penn. Smith made a basket for the Quakers, who were then able to get a stop on Harvard’s attempt to respond.
This pattern defined much of the second half, with Penn able to lock down Harvard on defense — getting stops and forcing turnovers — while scoring on the other end. Hope began to shine for the Quakers as they went on a 6-0 run. Since its opening three-pointer of the half, the Crimson went without a field goal for almost five minutes. With their post-season on the line, the Quakers fought hard to get back in the game.
On his senior night and last home game, senior forward/center Nick Spinoso dominated on the offensive end, and combined with stops on defense, he led Penn’s effort to scrap its way back into the game. Spinoso would finish his last game at the Cathedral of College Basketball game with a career-high of 24 points.
With this momentum, the Quakers closed Harvard’s lead, down only 47-45 with 11 minutes to play. In this period, the Crimson was 1-5 from the field and was in another four-minute scoring drought.
In the minutes to follow, the two teams battled, with the Crimson’s lead never growing to more than seven. A three-point play from Gerhart tied the game at 58-58, and with a shot clock violation on Harvard the following play, the energy in the Palestra was palpable. With just over four minutes left in play, a three-pointer from Brown gave the Quakers their first lead of the game.
The Quakers’ momentum was seemingly unstoppable — or at least that’s what most thought. Penn brought its lead to five, leaving Harvard down 69-64 with just 80 seconds to play.
Seconds away from accomplishing a hard-fought comeback, things began to unwind for the Quakers. Following a quick Harvard two-pointer and timeout, the Crimson were forced to draw a foul.
After Roberts missed the free throw, Penn fouled — granting Harvard the opportunity they needed. Harvard missed one free throw as well, and Smith secured the rebound once again, securing hope for the Quakers with only seven seconds to play.
In an emotional rollercoaster of an ending, Harvard guard Robert Hinton drew a foul on a cross-court shot and drained both free throws, bringing the score to a nail-biting 69-68 in favor of Penn.
After another Harvard foul and conversion by Brown on the free throws put the Quakers up 71-68 with five seconds left of play. Early celebrations commenced, as it seemed an unthinkable comeback had been achieved, but a jaw-dropping three-point shot from Harvard’s Nelson sent the game to overtime — a devastating result to Penn’s hard-fought comeback in the second half.
Unlike the final minutes of regulation play, overtime started slow for both teams. Two minutes into the five-minute overtime period, the Quakers were scoreless and down 73-71.
With both teams in the bonus, a series of free-throw opportunities followed. A play inside by Spinoso and a Harvard backdoor layup led to a chaotic back-and-forth.
Harvard then made two final free throws — gaining a one-point lead. Inbounding the ball from the baseline with 10 seconds to play, the Quakers were unable to make a play and ultimately fell in a heartbreaking 79-78 loss.
The Quakers have three more games in Ivy play, starting with Cornell on Feb. 28, but their chances to make the Ivy League tournament have been officially lost.
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