LEWISBURG, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team won for the first time in 617 days as the Quakers made the plays down the stretch to defeat Bucknell, 73-68, on Sunday afternoon at the Sojka Pavilion.
 
The Quakers (1-2) erased a six-point deficit in the second half to earn their fourth straight win against the Bison (0-2).
 
Quaker Notemeal
*For the second game in a row, Penn reached double figures in three-point baskets with 10; the Quakers shot 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
 
*Penn improved to 167-59 all-time against current Patriot League programs and 5-1 against the Bison.
 
*Sophomore Jordan Dingle once again led Penn in scoring, with 24 points. He has hit the 20-point mark in all three games so far this season.
 
*Dingle took 23 field goals on Sunday, tied for the most in a single game by a Penn player in the Steve Donahue coaching era.
 
*Senior Jelani Williams had 17 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes on Sunday. After scoring just two points in the first three halves this season, Williams—who is playing his first regular-season games since being a high-schooler in 2016—has 25 over Penn's last three halves.
 
*Sophomore Clark Slajchert finished the day with 13 points and knocked down three of his four three-point shots; he entered the game 0-5 from beyond the arc.
 
*Freshman Nick Spinoso ended up playing more than 24 minutes off the bench, finishing with three points and three assists.
 
*Junior Max Lorca-Lloyd had early foul trouble but came back to finish the day with four points, three blocked shots and a steal.
 
How It Happened
Penn opened the game on a 5-0 run thanks to a trey from Williams and a jumper from Dingle 90 seconds in. The five-point advantage would prove to be the largest lead of the first half with the two teams going back-and-forth.
 
The Quakers led for more than 15 minutes during the first half and forced nine Bison turnovers during the first 20 minutes of play. Bucknell took its second lead of the game at 21-20 with 7:29 left. Less than a minute later, a three from Williams gave the Red and Blue back the lead.
 
The two teams would trade buckets down the stretch in the first half before a Williams jumper made it 34-29 in favor of the Quakers less than a minute to go. Bucknell would hit a trio of free throws and Penn took a two-point lead into halftime.
 
The Bison started the second half on an 11-3 run thanks to hitting a trio of three-pointers to take their largest lead of the game at 43-37 just over four minutes into the frame.
 
The Quakers answered the run with a surge of their own, ripping off five straight points to take a 49-48 lead following a layup from Dingle midway through the stanza.
 
Dingle scored eight straight points for the Quakers, capped by a driving bucket less than three minutes left to give Penn a 64-60 lead. Both teams had looks and chances over the next 90 seconds, but the Quakers had a pair of shots blocked and Bucknell missed four three-point attempts.
 
Williams backed down his Bison defender and scored in traffic to put the guests up six at 66-60 with under a minute remaining.
 
Over the final minute of play, Penn knocked down 5-of-6 free throws to keep the advantage at six (71-65). Bucknell hit a trey with nine seconds left to pull within three before Slajchert hit one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game and effectively seal it.
 
Up Next
Penn hosts Lafayette on Tuesday night in the second half of a women's/men's doubleheader at The Palestra. The women will play King's College at 4 p.m., with the men facing the Leopards at 7 p.m.