Live by the three, die by the three.
That’s what happened to Penn today in its matchup against George Mason in an 85-53 loss, where it shot 32 three-pointers while only hitting 10 — resulting in a below average 31.3 team three-point shooting percentage.
Out of the gate, captain and senior forward/center Nick Spinoso scored the opening points off a drive into the paint followed by his fifth made three-pointer on the season to tie the game early at 5-5.
Spinoso wasn’t the only Quaker to find success downtown. During the first half, five Quakers had a three-pointer through a lot of well-placed screens to get open. They drained six of 15 for a total of 18 points from beyond the arc.
“It was more of our defense was really good during that stretch,” coach Steve Donahue said. “We were able to get the ball up the floor, flow into our offense, and we got better looks when we did that.”
While Penn (4-8) thrived downtown, George Mason (8-4) sought an interior paint battle led by the duo of forwards Jalen Haynes and Giovanni Emejuru, who are two of its three top leading scorers. And George Mason fed its big men. While they didn’t make every shot by the rim, they drew plenty of fouls that allowed them to get into the bonus halfway through the first half.
Penn and George Mason traded baskets for much of the rest of the first half — tying at 23-23 with a handful of minutes left to go. But the tide quickly shifted in favor of the Patriots.
A turnover from junior guard/forward Ethan Roberts led to a quick transition basket for Haynes, and then back-to-back three-pointers in the corner gave George Mason the run it needed to pull away at the end of the half. Combined with this and the Quakers going cold from the field, Penn found itself on the wrong side of a 12-2 scoring run. They entered the locker room at half down 35-25.
The foul troubles continued for the Quakers after the break. Within the first three minutes of the second half, they committed four fouls — two by Spinoso. With four total fouls, Spinoso went to the bench. He later fouled out with 10 minutes remaining.
“We need Nick [Spinoso] out there 30 minutes at least,” Donahue said. Spinoso played 20 minutes today. “That hasn’t been an issue this year, but against a team like that — that’s so physical — we just need to be more intelligent, especially around the basket, not reaching, just making sure we’re being more solid defensively.”
Haynes only had four points the first half, partially due to early foul trouble. But he came alive on the offensive end to quickly add 11 points in the second half, taking advantage against sophomore forward Augustus Gerhart with Spinoso out. Haynes added 10 rebounds and a block against Gerhart on the day.
Meanwhile, Penn remained cold from beyond the arc until senior guard George Smith nailed one in from the corner to cut the deficit to 46-31. It was Penn’s first three-pointer after missing nine straight from before the arc, but it didn’t catch fire from the three as it had at the start of the game, as defensive woes also continued.
Penn managed to put up 18 points in the last 11 minutes of the matchup. Eleven were from junior guard/forward Michael Zanoni, who started in his second consecutive game.
“You can tell he feels more comfortable in his role, and hopefully this is a really good stepping stone getting ready for the league,” Donahue said — citing both Zanoni and sophomore guard/forward Niklas Polonowski, who finished with 10 points, as key rotational players moving forward.
Roberts, who leads the team in scoring averaging 16.6 per game, also had 10. Roberts finished tied for second in scoring and as the team-leader in three other categories with 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals — good for his third double-double of the season.
Ultimately, the Patriots’ offensive firepower in the second half was too much to overcome. They made 63.3% of their field goals to propel them to the 32-point win.
“We played three-and-a-half games of really good defense over the last three weeks and the defense was poor in the second half,” Donahue said. “On the defensive end, making sure late in the clock we don’t let our guard down, keep guys in front, and limit them to one shot … when we do those things — those simple things — we’re a good basketball team.”
Penn now has a week off before its last non-conference matchup at Penn State on Dec. 29, streamed live on Peacock.
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