Five down the drain.
After a heartbreaking close game with Yale the night before, the Quakers were hoping to complete the road-trip weekend in better spirits after their match against Brown. However, without ever taking the lead once in the matchup, Penn men’s basketball fell 82-72 to Brown.
“I thought we were just very inconsistent on the defensive end and, at times, on the offensive end,” coach Steve Donahue said. “[We were] just not playing up [to] how well you have to play to win on the road.”
In a scrappy first half, the Quakers (6-16, 2-7 Ivy) fought to stay on Brown’s heels, but they were unable to get in front of the Bears (12-10, 4-5) — finishing the half down by four points.
Brown guard Alexander Lesburt Jr. put the first four points on the board, while teammate forward Landon Lewis kept Penn at bay with a solid block on Penn junior guard/forward Ethan Roberts. But Roberts did not let that faze him, as he took a driving layup to score Penn’s first points.
This game marked a major milestone for star Brown guard Kino Lilly Jr. — his first three-pointer of the game brought him to past 1800 career points. He eventually finished as his team’s leading scoring with 23 points overall.
Lewis also had a standout performance with 20 points, five blocks, and seven rebounds. Lewis and Lilly Jr. were an impenetrable duo to take down in this game.
“I thought [Lilly] got loose in the second half,” Donahue said. “We did not do a good job, and he got some open looks. … I give [Lewis] credit. He made some difficult shots at times, but if you’re going to win on the road, you try to hold the best players down better than we did.”
Seven minutes into the first half, senior forward/center Nick Spinoso hooked a layup to even the score between the Quakers and the Bears — a tied score that was never repeated again. In Penn’s next possession, Spinoso was able to sink a three-pointer to reduce Penn’s deficit to one point, and he mimicked his signature hook four minutes later to bring the score to 26-28.
The second half of the game displayed more aggression on both ends of the brown-and-red court. Free throws were a considerable asset that kept the Quakers close to the Bears.
After Lilly Jr. extended Brown’s lead to nine points with a triple to log the Bears’ largest lead thus far, the Quakers went on a seven-point run, gaining lots of momentum to stay afloat in the game. Roberts, after hitting the floor during a three-pointer attempt, went 3-for-3 at the line. Then, when Brown regained possession, a steal by senior guard George Smith led to a clutch fast break and tip into the basket for two more points. The conclusion of the run hailed from a huge overhead pass by Roberts to sophomore guard Sam Brown, who finished the play with a pump fake and incredible reverse layup.
An ill-mannered foul by Brown forward N’famara Dabo caused a seven-point play that Penn highly benefited from late in the second half. After sophomore guard/forward Niklas Polonowski knocked down a three-pointer, Dabo roughly struck Spinoso with a hard forearm that was ruled a flagrant foul penalty one. Spinoso drained one out of his two shots at the charity stripe, and Penn capitalized on their possession of the ball as Roberts rounded out the seven-point play with a three-point swisher.
Despite these solid plays, Penn was still unable to overcome the Bears, finishing the matchup trailing the Bears 82-72.
Roberts and his teammate Brown had exceptional scoring performances. The latter finished with 19 points, two defensive rebounds, and went 6-for-6 in free throws, and Roberts concluded with 26 points and three rebounds overall.
Penn men’s basketball returns to the Palestra to take on Dartmouth on Feb. 21.
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