VILLANOVA, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team closed out Big 5 pod play Tuesday night at Villanova, falling to the Wildcats 93-49.
 
Penn falls to 2-3 overall and finishes pod play 0-2; as a result, the Quakers will play in the first game at the Big 5 Classic on Saturday, Dec. 7. Villanova improved to .500 both overall (3-3) and in Big 5 pod play (1-1).
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Junior Michael Zanoni was Penn's leading scorer on Tuesday night, with nine points.
 
*Three players—juniors Johnnie Walter and Ethan Roberts and freshman Michelangelo Oberti—finished with seven points each.
 
*Senior Nick Spinoso and sophomore Sam Brown led Penn with three assists.
 
*Sophomore Augustus Gerhart led Penn with five rebounds and added five points
 
*Villanova had four players score in double figures, led by Eric Dixon who had 23 points. Wooga Poplar added 19 and Jhamir Brickus scored 16 to go with a game-high eight assists. Former Quaker Tyler Perkins nearly had a double-double on Tuesday night, with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and added three steals.

How It Happened
Both teams started out hot from the field, Villanova going 6-of-7 (3-3 on three-pointers) and the Quakers nearly matching them at 4-of-6 (2-2). The Wildcats' lead was 15-10 at the first media timeout. It was still 21-16 out of the under-12 timeout, and at 23-16 Zanoni knocked down a three-pointer and then was fouled on another trey attempt, hitting all three shots. That got Penn within 23-22, and a few minutes later Walter dialed long distance and the score was 26-26 with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
 
Penn's next field goal would not come for another 14 minutes of game time, well into the second half. By the time George Smith finally ended the drought with a driving layup, Villanova—which scored the last 17 points in the first half—had outscored the Quakers 30-3. The Wildcats cruised from there.
 
Up Next
Penn is off until the Cathedral Classic Invitational, which will run the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving Weekend. The Quakers are scheduled to play Navy (Friday at 4:30 p.m.), Maine (Saturday at 4:30) and Elon (Sunday at 2:30) in the back half of doubleheaders all three days.
 
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.