ESTERO, Fla. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team looked like it might cruise to third place at the Gulf Coast Showcase, but the University of Missouri-Kansas City proved a stubborn foe and it wasn't until the Kangaroos missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that the Quakers could breathe easy with a 68-65 win.
 
Penn led by double digits in each half, and had a 65-53 lead with less than four minutes remaining. However, UMKC scored 10 of the next 11 points, then matched a final Penn basket to keep the score at three points. Penn had three unsuccessful chances to separate itself, but UMKC's final two trey attempts were off the mark and the Quakers escaped.
 
Penn is now 4-3 on the season, while UMKC is 2-5.
 
Up Next
The Red and Blue returns to home to Philadelphia for the Thanksgiving holiday, then travels to Monmouth on Saturday with a 7 p.m. game with the Hawks.
 
Notes
*Penn once again hovered right near 50 percent from the field, going 25-of-51 (49.0 percent).
 
*Max Rothschild had another big game for Penn, leading the way with 16 points and also grabbing seven rebounds.
 
*Senior Darnell Foreman finished with 11 points, once again tied his career high with eight rebounds—he did that in every game at the GCS—and dished off five assists against just one turnover.
 
*Junior Jackson Donahue was a massive part of this game, scoring all of his season-high 11 points in the game's final 13 minutes including treys on back-to-back possessions to turn a 39-35 lead into a 45-35 advantage. He hit three treys, also a season best.
 
*Sophomore AJ Brodeur--who was named to the all-tournament team--had 11 points and eight rebounds; he was the only Penn player to score in double figures in all three games here at the GCS.
 
*Sophomore Ryan Betley scored 12 points on Wednesday and also had four boards.
 
How It Happened
For the third time in as many games down here, Penn got off to a blazing start. The Quakers scored the game's first 10 points, with the baskets coming from four different players. UMKC woke up and scored 10 of the next 12 points to get within two, at 12-10, but a Ryan Betley three-point play at the media timeout settled the Quakers down. A Broderick Robinson and-1 play made it 15-13, but Penn scored nine of the next 11 points for a 24-17 advantage and it was 31-21 at the half.
 
UMKC came out with the hot hand to start the second half. Betley opened the scoring by hitting 1-of-2 free throws, but the Kangaroos scored the next seven points to make it a 32-28 game and force a Penn timeout. It was still 39-35 before Donahue hit his back-to-back three-pointers, making the score 45-35.
 
That lead expanded to 56-41 with less than nine minutes, but UMKC reeled off 10 straight points over a span of 2:20 and the advantage was a precarious 56-51 with more than six to play. At that point Donahue again hit a trey, and then after a defensive stop Foreman knocked down one of two foul shots to make it 60-51. Jordan Giles got two of those points back for the Kangaroos, but Foreman and Donahue hit buckets and then Rothschild knocked down a free throw to make the score 65-53 with 3:55 to play.
 
UMKC scored a basket, but Rothschild responded with a free throw. However, Xavier Bishop knocked down a three-pointer, Penn missed its possession, and Giles got to the line and hit both free throws. Penn's next possession again was fruitless, and when Isaiah Ross hit a trey—his third of the game—the score was 66-63 with more than two minutes still to play.
 
Foreman took over, driving the lane and hitting an off-hand layup to push the lead back to five, but Bishop drove down for a layup of his own to match.
 
Penn's first possession after that ended with a forced shot by Betley that never had a chance, but it looked like Donahue might seal the win when he stole Ross' pass as UMKC set up its offense. It was Donahue and a UMKC defender racing to the basket, and when Donahue tried to draw the foul he missed the layup. Rothschild was there for the rebound, but he tried to throw the ball off a Kangaroos player as his momentum took him out of bounds and instead it landed right in a UMKC players hands.
 
Ross took a three-pointer from deep that was off the mark, and Foreman got the board. He was fouled with 12 seconds left, but missed both free throws that could have made it a two-possession game. Given one final reprieve, the Kangaroos got Ross another try from beyond the arc and again he missed it. Rothschild was able to grab the board and seal the victory.