PHILADELPHIA – Playing a game for the first time in 18 days, the University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team easily defeated Wilkes University on Wednesday afternoon at The Palestra, 93-61.
Penn improved to 7-7 with a victory in its final tune-up before Ivy League play, while Wilkes—an NCAA Division 3 program—is 7-5.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn improved to 5-0 against non-Division I opponents in the
Steve Donahue coaching era.
*All 12 players who dressed for Wednesday's game scored.
*Senior
Jonah Charles led all scorers with 18 points, all of them coming in the game's first 16 minutes; the 18 points tied his career high, set three times last season.
*Charles went 5-of-6 beyond the arc on Wednesday and scored his other three points when he knocked down three free throws after being fouled as he went up for a trey attempt.
*Junior
Max Martz scored 12 points in 17 minutes of action, his third straight double-figure scoring outing.
*In his first game back since November 30, junior
Clark Slajchert opened the scoring for Penn and finished with 11 points in a little more than 21 minutes of action.
*Freshman
Cam Thrower played a team-high 23:41 and reached double figures in the scoring column for the first time at Penn, with 13 points; he is the tenth different Penn player with a double-figure scoring game this season.
*Senior
Michael Moshkovitz led all players with nine rebounds and dished out six assists, both season highs; his assist total matched his career best, set twice last season.
*Sophomore
George Smith also saw his first action in more than a month—he broke his nose at Lafayette on November 22—and finished with eight points and four boards in 19 minutes.
*Junior
Colin Chambers scored his first three points wearing the Red and Blue, hitting a jumper from the elbow and going 1-of-2 at the foul line.
*Wilkes was led by Drake Marshall, who had 16 points and four rebounds. Cayden Merrifield added 12 points, three assists and two steals.
How It Happened
Penn got buckets from Slajchert and Charles (from distance) to open the scoring on Wednesday, and the Quakers never looked back. It was 9-2 a little more than three minutes in, and the margin hit double digits for the first time just 5:15 into the contest on another Charles trey.
The closest Wilkes got the rest of the half was 13 points on three separate occasions, the last at 34-21. However, Penn reeled off the next 12 points, holding the Colonels scoreless for nearly six minutes, and took a 46-24 lead into the break.
Wilkes opened the second-half scoring on a Drake Marshall jumper, but Penn scored the game's next 15 points to make the score 61-26 and officially put this one to bed.
Up Next
Penn begins Ivy League play with four road games, starting on Monday when the Quakers are at Brown. That game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.
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