FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team started its game with #13/12 Arkansas shorthanded, got even more shorthanded less than three minutes into Sunday's contest, but fought hard and kept within shouting distance before falling to the Razorbacks, 76-60.
 
Penn fell to 3-6 overall, while Arkansas remained unbeaten at 6-0.
 
Notes
*Penn matched a season high with nine steals—it also happened at Bucknell—and Arkansas matched an opponent high with 15 turnovers (also Utah State).
 
*Penn hit just seven three-pointers, a season low, and shot season-low percentages in overall field goals (36.8) and beyond the arc (25.9).
 
*Sophomore Clark Slajchert stepped into Dingle's starting spot and finished the day with 25 points, nearly double his previous season/career high (13 at Bucknell).
 
*Slajchert also matched his season/career high with a trio of three-point baskets and set a season/career best with two steals.
 
*Slajchert missed his first free throw on Sunday, snapping his 16-of-16 start at the foul line, but made his next four.
 
*Junior Lucas Monroe had his first double-figure scoring game this season and the third of his college career with 14 points.
 
*Sophomore Max Martz set a season/career high with 13 rebounds.
 
*Pressed into major minutes due to the absence of Lorca-Lloyd and Spinoso at the center spot, junior Michael Moshkovitz set season/career highs in assists (5) and steals (4) and had four rebounds in 32 minutes.
 
*Junior Jonah Charles scored six points on a pair of three-pointers; he has 27 treys this season and just four two-point baskets.
 
*Freshmen George Smith and Andrew Laczkowski got on the scoresheet, Smith with a late triple and Laczkowski with a layup for Penn's final points.
 
*For Arkansas, JD Notae had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Stanley Umude scored 19 points and Au'Diese Toney added 12 before being ejected.
 
How It Happened
Penn knew it had to play a great game to win on Sunday, but the Quakers went behind the eight-ball before the game even started when their leading scorer, Jordan Dingle, fell ill during the trip. He did not dress for the game. Already down a big man with Max Lorca-Lloyd nursing an injury, and now down Dingle in the backcourt, the situation officially got dire less than three minutes in when starting center Nick Spinoso injured his ankle and was lost for the day.
 
Despite all that, Penn hung around for a good portion of the first half. It was a four-point game, 20-16, when Arkansas 7-0 run that put the hosts in front by double digits. The Quakers got a trey from Charles and a layup from Slajchert to get back within six, at 27-21, but the Razorbacks scored the next five points. When JD Notae sliced through Penn's defense to hit a jumper in the lane at the buzzer, Arkansas took a 37-26 lead into the half.
 
Penn went cold to start the second half, needing more than three minutes to get a point and nearly five minutes to hit a field goal. Arkansas took advantage, scoring the period's first seven points and 12 of the first 13 to go in front by 22 at 49-27.
 
It was still 55-34 when Penn hit a surge. Monroe hit a layup, and on the next possession Slajchert hit a three and was fouled. He drained the free throw, and after a Moshkovitz steal Monroe was fouled and he hit both foul shots. Another Monroe free throw went down, capping a 9-0 run that covered 1:59 of game time and got the Quakers within 12 (55-43).
 
Arkansas re-asserted itself with the next five points, and it was still a 17-point margin when Penn slowly whittled away. Smith hit a three-pointer, followed by a pair of Monroe foul shots. Notae got two of those points back for the Razorbacks, but Slajchert finished a Moshkovitz pass at the bucket and then Moshkovitz and Monroe went 1-for-2 at the foul line on consecutive possessions. With four minutes left, Penn only trailed by 10 (66-56).
 
Arkansas quickly scored, got a defensive stop, and again scored quickly. That re-established the order, as Penn turned it over and missed a pair of open looks beyond the arc. The Razorbacks eventually stretched their lead to 18 before the final score was set at 16.
 
Up Next
Penn is back at home on Wednesday, starting a two-week stretch that will see the Quakers play all of their Big 5 games. First up? No. 7 Villanova, which comes to The Palestra for a 7 p.m. tipoff that will air on ESPN+.