EASTON, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team gave up a double-digit lead in the second half Tuesday night at Lafayette, but the Quakers scored seven of the first eight points in overtime and held off the Leopards to win, 74-68.
 
Junior Jordan Dingle got a steal which led to a layup on the opening possession of the extra session, then knocked down a three-pointer two possessions later to give Penn a 66-61 lead that the Red and Blue never relinquished.
 
Penn improved to 2-4 on the season, while Lafayette—under first-year head coach Michael Jordan, a Penn Athletics Hall of Famer—fell to 1-5.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn improved to 50-59 all-time in overtime games, 22-24 in OT games on the road, and 6-8 in overtime games under head coach Steve Donahue.
 
*It was Penn's first overtime win since a 75-72 decision over Harvard on January 31, 2020, and its first OT win on the road since the epic, 101-96 four-overtime victory at Monmouth on November 25, 2017.
 
*Penn set season highs in rebounds (43), free throws made (15) and attempted (25).
 
*Penn had a single-digit turnover total for the first time this season, with eight.
 
*Dingle ended the night with 22 points, his third straight game with at least 20 points and his 14th straight double-figure scoring game dating back to last season.
 
*Dingle now has 981 career points after just 56 collegiate games.
 
*After collecting his first collegiate double-double in Penn's last game, junior Max Martz nearly had another with 18 points and eight rebounds.
 
*Senior Michael Moshkovitz had his first double-figure scoring game this season with 10 points, set a season high with six rebounds, and dished out three assists.
 
*Junior Clark Slajchert had his modest four-game streak of double-figure scoring games snapped, but he set a career high with five assists.
 
*Sophomore Nick Spinoso played less than 20 minutes but grabbed nine rebounds, a season/career high.
 
*Senior Jonah Charles hit two of his three three-point shots for six points; all of his points this season have come from beyond the arc.
 
*Lafayette was led by Leo O'Boyle who had 16 points, while Jon Brantley scored 13 points. CJ Fulton commanded the game from his point guard spot with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
 
How It Happened
The host Leopards jumped right out of the gate, taking a 9-0 lead before the game was three minutes old and forcing Coach Donahue to take a timeout. Dingle was fouled taking a three-pointer out of the break, though, getting Penn on the board and starting an 8-0 run that forced a Lafayette timeout. The 'Pards got an and-1 three-point play out of that stoppage, but Penn responded with another nine-point spurt that was punctuated by a Charles three-pointer to make the score 17-12. Overall, it was a 17-3 run that put Penn in front.
 
The Red and Blue's lead was still four points at the final media timeout of the first half, but out of that timeout O'Boyle hit a trio of foul shots and then Fult on sandwiched five points around a Martz bucket to give the hosts a 29-27 lead at halftime.
 
Brantley opened the second-half scoring to put Lafayette up by four, but the Leopards went ice cold after that and Penn took advantage. The Quakers scored the game's next nine points over a six-minute span to go in front by five, then after a Brantley trey Moshkovitz came back with the game's next three baskets to push the Red and Blue's lead to 42-34. Overall, it was 15-3 run.
 
Another Moshkovitz basket, off a nice Slajchert feed, gave Penn the largest lead of the game at 55-45 with just over six minutes to play. However, at that point Lafayette made a run.

Ryan Zambie and Fulton hit four foul shots, the start of a 10-2 run that got the Leopards within two. Martz scored in the paint to make it a four-point game as the game went under three minutes, and then more than a minute went by before Justin Vander Baan scored on a putback to make the score 59-57.
 
Penn worked the clock on its next possession, which ended with Slajchert getting a good look on a three. He missed, but Moshkovitz was right there for the putback and the Quakers' lead was back up to four. Lafayette quickly got the basket back, got the ball back after a Martz miss, and Boyle was fouled as he went into a drive with 22 seconds left. He hit both foul shots, tying the game at 61-61.
 
Dingle missed a three-pointer, and then both teams had desperation chances to win that were unsuccessful as the game went to overtime.
 
Dingle scored Penn's first seven points in OT, single-handedly putting the Quakers in front 68-62. That proved to be enough as Lafayette did not hit a field goal until there were just 12 seconds left and Penn was still in front by six.
 
Up Next
Penn is playing in the inaugural Cathedral Classic this weekend at The Palestra. The Quakers will face Hartford on Friday, Colgate on Saturday, and Delaware on Sunday. All three games are scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.