PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team had a strong start to the second half in its home opener on Thursday night, and then the Quakers made all their free throws down the stretch and needed all of them in holding off the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (UMES), 85-84.
Penn led by as much as 16, going up 56-40 on an
AJ Levine free throw. It was still a double-digit margin (73-63) with 2:30 to play but the Hawks hit a staggering five three-pointers—four of them in the game's final 28 seconds—and knocked down three free throws when KC Shaw was fouled going up for a trey. Luckily, the Quakers went a perfect 10-of-10 at the line in the final minute,
Sam Brown knocking down eight of them and
Ethan Roberts converting the other two, which provided just enough cushion for the victory.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn is now 2-0 for the second straight season and the fourth time in the
Steve Donahue coaching era.
*Penn dished out 18 assists on its 25 baskets (72.0 ratio) and committed just seven turnovers, a 2.57 assist/turnover ratio.
*Penn knocked down 12 three-pointers on Thursday night.
*Roberts led Penn with 23 points, going 5-of-10 from three-point land in the process, and had his first double-double as a Quaker with 10 rebounds.
*Because of his free-throw shooting exploits at the end, Brown finished the night with 22 points. He also knocked down four three-pointers.
*Senior
George Smith scored 14 points on Thursday night, his first double-figure scoring game in nearly a year and his most points in a game since he dropped 14 in back-to-back games against Harvard and Columbia his sophomore season.
*Senior
Nick Spinoso was the fourth Penn player to hit double digits in scoring, with 11 points. He also had eight rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists.
*Sophomore
Augustus Gerhart fouled out of Thursday's game but had eight points (on 4-of-4 shooting) and five rebounds before that.
*UMES was led by Christopher Flippin, who ended the night with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and a game-high 13 rebounds. KC Shaw led the Hawks with 24 points, while Kyrell Shaw (16) and Jose Cuello (10 also reached double figures.
How It Happened
Penn was in front 12-9 but slowed down offensively, going more than three minutes without a point. UMES took advantage, scoring seven in a row to go in front by four. The Hawks' lead was 18-15 when Smith scored an old-fashioned three-point play, the start of a 15-5 run that pushed the Quakers in front, 30-23. Penn's lead was still 34-31 at the half.
Dylan Williams started the second half with a three-pointer, and then Gerhart scored on back-to-back possessions to help push Penn to a 43-34 lead. Cardell Bailey scored for UMES, only to see Brown knock down a trey and Gerhart convert again off a Williams feed. That gave the Quakers a double-digit margin at 48-36. Only three baskets were scored by the two teams over the next four minutes, Cuello making it a 10-point game before Brown and then Roberts dialed long distance. Penn's lead was still 54-40 at the under-12 timeout.
UMES slowly whittled away at the lead, getting the margin back to single digits with 8:46 left when Maurice Vassel threw one down in transition. That forced a Penn timeout, and out of the stoppage Smith took a nice backdoor feed from Spinoso and converted the reverse layup. It was arguably the bucket of the night.
The Hawks were undeterred, scoring the game's next seven points to get within four with 7:13 still to play. It was still a five-point game at the final media timeout, but Spinoso hit two free throws out of the stoppage and that was the start of a 6-0 Penn run that pushed the Quakers' margin back to double digits, at 70-59. UMES scored the next four points, but a Roberts trey made it 73-63 with 2:46 left. KC Shaw hit a triple with 2:30 left, but Roberts answered with a driving layup. That 75-66 score was still intact as the clock went under a minute to play.
Turned out, this game was far from over.
KC Shaw was fouled going up for a trey and hit all three free throws. UMES immediately fouled Brown on the inbounds, and he hit both to make the score 77-69. KC Shaw missed from distance, but Flippin caught the rebound and put it home with 42 seconds left. Brown again was fouled and made both, so it was 79-71. Cuello pulled up for three and swished it with 28 seconds left, but once again Penn found Brown and he was fouled and made both. 81-74.
It was KC Shaw's turn again and he made good for yet another triple, making the score 81-77 with 15 seconds left. Penn took a timeout, but out of the stoppage Roberts lost the ball along the sideline. UMES ran another play for Shaw and again he delivered, making this a one-point game with just 4.3 seconds left, at 81-80. The Hawks called timeout and fouled Roberts before the ball reached him on the ensuing inbounds. He made both for an 83-80 Penn lead.
Penn fouled KC Shaw as he came over midcourt with 2.2 seconds left to ensure the tying three couldn't get taken. Shaw made the first and purposely missed the second, missing the rim entirely to blow the play dead and give the ball to the Quakers. Penn once more got the ball to Brown and he was fouled with 0.8 seconds left. The sophomore made both, and good thing too because UMES inbounded to Cuello who was nothing but net on a 65-foot shot at the buzzer to cap an astonishing final minute of scoring by the Hawks (18 points).
Up Next
Penn looks to keep the momentum going on Tuesday, making a trip to the Lehigh Valley to face Lafayette. Tipoff with the Leopards is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Easton.
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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