Penn-Harvard Box Score (PDF)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team got out to a hot start, but Harvard climbed back and ended up shooting past the Quakers in taking a 69-59 decision Friday night at the Lavietes Pavilion. With the loss, the Quakers are now 7-10 overall, 0-4 in Ivy League play. The Crimson improved to 12-6 overall, 4-1 in Ivy play.

Numbers of Note

*For the first time in the Steve Donahue coaching era, Penn lost a game that it led at halftime. The Quakers were 12-0 in such games prior to Friday.

*Senior Matt Howard led Penn with 14 points, his fourth-straight game in double figures, and also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.

*Darnell Foreman had 11 points and six rebounds, and tied for team-high honors with three assists (along with Devon Goodman).

*Penn committed 19 turnovers and had just nine assists.

*Harvard put five players in double figures in the scoring column, Senior guard Siyani Chambers led the Crimson with 13 points; he also had six assists without a turnover, and four steals.

How It Happened

Penn converted at least a point in each of its first seven possessions, scoring the game's first 11 points and going up 15-4 just over four minutes into the game. That lead eventually swelled to 19-4, before Harvard began its comeback with eight straight points to make it 19-12.

Penn's lead was still 28-19, but the Crimson went on a 15-3 spurt and took a 34-31 lead that had the crowd into it. However, the Quakers responded with consecutive treys by Devon Goodman and Darnell Foreman – the latter coming at the halftime buzzer – and Penn was up 37-34 at the break.

The second half was a nip-and-tuck affair much of the way, with four lead changes occurring in the first 10 minutes of the period.

The critical run came with Penn up 53-50. Corey Johnson hit a three-pointer for Harvard to tie things up, and then after both teams missed treys a Quakers turnover led to a Bryce Aiken layup and a 55-53 Crimson lead. It appeared Foreman had a clear path to the basket to tie, but instead Siyani Chambers picked him clean, brought it to the other end, and converted an and-one layup to make it 58-53.

Penn got it to 58-55, and had a chance to tie but Matt Howard missed a trey attempt. At the other end, Zena Edosomwan tipped a missed shot once, then a second time, and converted the putback to get Harvard back up by five. AJ Brodeur missed a pair of free throws that could have cut into the lead, and instead Johnson plunged the dagger with another three-pointer that made the score 63-55 en route to the final score.

Next Up

Penn returns to action Saturday at Dartmouth, tipping off with the Big Green (68-63 losers to Princeton on Friday) at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, Penn hosts Princeton and celebrates the 90 years in The Palestra in a game that will tip off at 7 p.m. 

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