EASTON, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team was unable to keep its success in close games going on Tuesday night, dropping a 65-63 decision to Lafayette.
 
With the score tied, 63-63—the sixth tie in the second half—the Leopards' Mark Butler drove the lane and was fouled as he went up with 2.5 seconds left. He made both free throws. Penn attempted a long pass to George Smith near center court but he was blanketed by his defender and unable to control the pass, allowing Lafayette to escape with the victory.
 
Penn fell to 2-1 on the young season, while Lafayette—which played its third Philadelphia Big 5 opponent already this season, opening the season with losses to Villanova and La Salle—is now 1-2.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Junior Ethan Roberts had another solid all-around performance as he led Penn with 14 points, dished out a game-high seven assists, and grabbed six rebounds.
 
*Senior Nick Spinoso had 13 points and seven boards, and tied his career high with four blocked shots (previously set last season against Kentucky).
 
*Sophomore Sam Brown scored 11 points—knocking down a trio of three-pointers—and matched his career high with eight rebounds.
 
*Junior Dylan Williams also had 11 points on Tuesday night.
 
*Sophomore Augustus Gerhart led Penn with nine rebounds (a season/career high) and added two points, a blocked shot, and a steal.

*After scoring just two points in 18 minutes across Penn's first two games, junior transfer Michael Zanoni dropped nine in 17 minutes Tuesday night.
 
*Lafayette was led by Caleb Williams who was 4-of-8 on three-pointers en route to a game-high 17 points. Mark Butler scored 11 while Alex Chaikin added 10. Misha Bednostin led everyone with 15 rebounds.

How It Happened
Penn had a long ride up to the Lehigh Valley, the usual sub-2-hour drive taking about three on Tuesday due to an accident on Route 22. Predictably, the Quakers started slowly, Lafayette scoring the first five and nine of the first 12 points as the Red and Blue could only get a three-pointer from Spinoso of all players.
 
Penn got back into it, drawing within one on two occasions at 9-8 and 22-21. A killer sequence occurred at the end of the half, when Brown missed a contested shot at the elbow and the Leopards brought the rebound down the court for a Chaikin trey that swished through from the left corner at the buzzer. That gave Lafayette a 29-23 lead at the break, and the Pards expanded it to nine when Williams drained another triple on the first possession of the second half.
 
Penn responded with 10 unanswered points over the next five minutes, Spinoso finding Gerhart open in the lane for the flush that gave the Quakers their first lead of the night at 33-32. Andrew Phillips ended a 5:38 scoring skid for the Pards with a three-pointer to put the hosts back in front, but again Penn went on a run with seven of the next nine points. When Smith rebounded a missed Spinoso free throw and fed Roberts for a three-pointer up top, the Quakers' lead was 40-37 and the run was 17-5.
 
Penn's biggest lead was four, when out of the under-8 media timeout Roberts found Brown in the right corner for a transition three and then fed Spinoso for a layup in traffic on the left baseline. That made the score 55-51 with 4:27 to play, but Williams immediately responded with a three-pointer to get Lafayette back within one at the under-4 media timeout (3:44 left).
 
Lafayette's Williams and Penn's Smith traded free throws, as did Butler and Penn's Williams. That left the score at 57-56 Penn as the clock went inside two minutes. At that point, the Leopards' Williams again found the range from long distance, pushing the hosts up by two with 1:49 left. Roberts was fouled as he went up at the elbow and made one of his two foul shots to make it a one-point game again, 59-58. Lafayette's Williams was fouled by Brown and made both freebies, but the Quakers sophomore got it back when he curled off a screen at the top of the key, took a feed from the right side and drained a triple that tied things at 61-61 as the game entered the final minute of regulation.
 
Butler put Lafayette in front with 37 seconds left on a layup, but Roberts again was fouled at the other end. This time he hit both shots to tie things at 63-63 with 22.5 seconds left.
 
After several timeouts, Lafayette got the ball to Butler as the final seconds wound down. He eventually got a switch on defense and took his new defender to the hole, and a foul was whistled as he threw up a wild layup that had no chance with 2.5 seconds left. He was true on both free throws.
 
Penn called a timeout and set up to try and get a final shot. But Spinoso's inbounds pass to Smith near center court was closely contested and the ball went loose before being corralled by a Lafayette player as the final buzzer sounded.
 
Up Next
Penn has Philadelphia Big 5 pod play over its next two games, starting Friday when the Quakers host Saint Joseph's at The Palestra. The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start time and is the back end of a doubleheader, with the Penn women tipping off against the Hawks at 4:30 p.m.
 
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.