PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team finished winless in Big 5 play this season after dropping a hard-fought, 76-74 decision at La Salle on Saturday.
 
The Quakers are 3-10 overall heading into fall exams, while the host Explorers improved to 5-4 overall.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn lost despite putting five players in double figures in the scoring column for the first time this season. The Quakers are now 12-4 in such games under head coach Steve Donahue.
 
*For the third straight game, Penn finished with a single-digit turnover total (9); however, the Quakers only forced nine La Salle turnovers.
 
*Penn's assist/turnover ratio over the last three games is 2.13 (49 assists/23 turnovers).
 
*Penn knocked down 14 three-pointers on Saturday, most since hitting 14 against Howard on December 30, 2019.
 
*For the fourth time this season and the first time in six games, Penn outrebounded its opponent (34-32).
 
*For the third time this season, Penn took more three-point shots (34) than two-point shots (28).
 
*Junior Jonah Charles matched his season/career high with 18 points, the third time he has hit that number this season. He did it on the strength of six three-point shots, giving him 38 treys (against just four two-pointers) this season.
 
*Charles also had six rebounds, one shy of his season/career high.
 
*Sophomore Jordan Dingle saw his streak of 20-point games end at four as he finished with 14 on Saturday; Dingle also had four rebounds, one shy of his season best.
 
*Junior Michael Moshkovitz had his best performance wearing the Penn uniform with season/career highs in points (13), rebounds (8) and assists (6); Mosh entered Saturday's game with 19 points on the season, six of them at George Mason.
 
*Senior Jelani Williams had his third double-figure scoring game this season, and his first since Davidson on November 19, with 11 points; he also had three steals, two rebounds and two assists.
 
*Freshman George Smith had his first double-digit scoring game at Penn, with 10 points; nine of them came in a row during a 1:16 span of the second half, turning a 50-48 deficit into a 57-50 lead.

*La Salle also had five players score in double figures on Saturday, led by Josh Nickelberry who had 15.

*The game was Penn's 1,000th with athletic trainer Phil Samko on the bench; he started working with the Quakers in 1985-86.
 
How It Happened
Penn scored first, Williams finishing a backdoor pass from Michael Wang for an easy layup, but La Salle rolled from there scoring the next 14 points (covering a span of 2:50). The run forced head coach Steve Donahue to change four of the five guys on the floor—only Dingle was left out there—and Charles ended the run with a trey.
 
La Salle's continued to roll out of the first media timeout, the Explorers hitting their first eight shots of the game en route to a 22-7 lead. At that point, however, Penn settled down and quickly worked its way back into the contest. Dingle and Charles sandwiched a Smith free throw with triples, and then the Quakers responded to a La Salle bucket with scores from Dingle, Charles (from long distance) and Wang that made the score 24-22.
 
While Penn got within a single possession a few more times after that, the Quakers hit a scoring lull with just two points over the half's final 5:48. Fortunately, La Salle did not take advantage and so the teams went to the locker rooms with the hosts in front, 40-36.
 
Penn finally got its first lead since 2-0 early in the second, Williams stealing a pass at one end and finishing at the other end for a 44-42 advantage. La Salle replied with a three-pointer from Nickelberry, the start of an 8-2 Explorers run that put them back in front 50-46. However, Max Martz put back a missed Dingle free throw, then Smith knocked down a pair of three-pointers—the second a second-chance bucket after Moshkovitz superbly rebounded a Charles miss. That made the score 54-50 and forced a La Salle timeout.
 
The lead was extended to seven out of the break, this time Smith scoring a layup while getting fouled for the old-fashioned three-point play. However, La Salle came back with the game's next seven points to tie things back up with 11 minutes left.
 
It was 59-59 when Charles shook free for treys on consecutive possessions, pushing Penn back in front by six. Once again, the Explorers came back with eight of the game's next 10 points and things were tied at 67-67 with six minutes to play.
 
Moshkovitz hit a pair of free throws to make it 69-67 with 5:35 to play, but La Salle got a dunk and a floater on consecutive possessions to regain the lead. A turnover led to another point and a three-point Explorers lead, and then Penn had one…two…three chances to convert without success. Instead, La Salle finally got the ball back and scored again for a 74-69 lead with 3:26 left.
 
Moshkovitz ended La Salle's run with a hook shot, but La Salle forced a foul and hit both free throws with 2:43 to play. Penn got a few stops after that but couldn't convert offensively as Moshkovitz, Smith and then Williams all missed contested shots in the paint.
 
La Salle looked like it would finally seal the deal in the final minute, when Dingle was cornered and threw a wild pass that La Salle's Anwar Gill stole at midcourt. He went down the court for an uncontested layup but inexplicably lost the ball out of bounds. Given new life, Dingle calmly knocked down a three-pointer with 40.7 left to make it 76-74.
 
Penn needed a defensive stop and got it, Max Martz coming down with the rebound. Dingle then raced down the court and into the lane, his contested driving layup rolling off the rim and out. The ball went out of bounds to the Quakers, but off the inbounds Dingle forced up a contested three in front of the Penn bench. The shot never really had a chance, and the ball fell into Explorers hands as the final buzzer sounded.
 
Up Next
Penn will not play again until after Christmas, the Quakers hosting James Madison on Tuesday, Dec. 28 at The Palestra. Tipoff for the holiday matinee will be 2 p.m.