PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team was undone by a late Brown run Friday night at The Palestra, falling to the Bears 88-79 in the first half of this Ivy weekend.
 
The Quakers were up 72-69 with a little more than five minutes to play, but the Bears scored nine unanswered points over a span of 1:49 and extended the run to 14-2, making it 83-74 with just over a minute remaining en route to the victory.
 
Penn's modest two-game win streak was snapped as the Quakers fell to 6-12 overall, 2-3 in Ivy League play. Brown also is 2-3 in league play and improved to 10-8 overall.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn had another strong night from distance, knocking down 14 three-pointers to give them 32 in the last two games and 43 in the last three.
 
*Penn committed just six turnovers (tied for a season low, originally set vs. Elon) and won the points-off-turnovers battle, 13-6; however, Brown doubled up the Quakers in second-chance points (16-8) despite both teams grabbing nine offensive boards.
 
*Junior Ethan Roberts had another strong offensive night, scoring 29 points and knocking down six of his 10 three-point shots. He also had five rebounds, led all players with three steals (which tied his season best), and dished out two assists.
 
*Senior George Smith had 18 points, a season high and most since he dropped 23 against, you guessed it, Brown back his freshman season. He added five rebounds (also a season high) and two assists.
 
*Sophomore Sam Brown scored 13 points and hit three treys on the night.
 
*Senior Nick Spinoso had 12 points, all of them coming in the second half. He also led the Quakers with six rebounds and four assists.
 
*Junior Dylan Williams scored six points on a pair of triples.
 
*Brown—which was a scintillating 15-of-24 from distance on the night and shot 50 percent overall (29-58)—got 34 points from senior Kino Lilly Jr., as he went a staggering 8-of-9 from beyond the arc. Alexander Lesburt Jr. came off the bench to score 19 points, while Aaron Cooley added 10. Lyndel Erold led all players with 11 rebounds and added seven points, three assists and two blocked shots. Brown's bench outscored Penn's bench, 29-7.
 
How It Happened
Quite simply, the first half was a shootout between Lilly and Roberts. The Brown senior hit his first five three-point shots on Friday night and was 7-of-8 from distance in the first half, ending the period with 23 points. At the other end, Roberts scored 22 points and knocked down five of his seven shots from beyond the arc. Both teams were prolific from distance, with 10 treys each.
 
Brown went in front 9-2 early, then reeled off a 15-0 run midway through the period to turn a two-point lead into a 17-point advantage at 32-15. Roberts scored seven points in a 10-0 Penn run to get the Quakers within seven, at 40-33, but Lilly scored Brown's last eight points and Bruno took a 48-38 lead into the locker room.
 
Spinoso and Smith led the way as Penn charged into the second half, scoring the first 12 points and taking its first lead of the night at 50-48. That forced a Brown timeout. The Quakers' lead was four on three separate occasions, the last of them coming when Roberts drained a triple with 8:07 left to make the score 68-64.
 
Cooley followed with his own trey, then Sam Brown and David Rochester traded buckets to make the score 70-69. A pair of Roberts free throws put the Red and Blue up by three with 6:23, but the hosts went scoreless for more than three minutes after that and the Bears took advantage. Erold got the run started with a second-chance layup of his own miss, then Cooley scored a layup off an Erold feed to give Brown the 73-72 lead with 4:28 to play.
 
Lilly scored the game's next five points on a pair of field goals, one a layup and the other his eighth three-pointer of the night. Smith finally ended Penn's drought, getting the Quakers within four, and they had a chance to get within one but missed a three-pointer on their next possession. Instead, the Bears came down and Lesburt drained a dagger triple, making the score 81-74 with 1:27 left.
 
Penn never got closer than six after that, a Sam Brown three-pointer from up top making the score 85-79 just inside a minute. However, the Bears hit their foul shots down the stretch to keep their hosts at bay.
 
Up Next
Penn continues this four-game Ivy League homestand tomorrow night, hosting Ivy League leader Yale at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs are 5-0 in Ivy play after defeating Princeton Friday night, 77-70.
 
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