WASHINGTON, D.C. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team gave defending Patriot League champion American University all it could handle on Sunday afternoon at AU's Bender Arena, but the Eagles made the plays down the stretch to pull out an 84-78 victory.
 
Penn was down by as many as 17 in the first half but came all the way back to hold the lead on a pair of occasions late in the second. However, a 10-3 AU run gave the PL champs some separation and they were able to hold on for the win.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn struggled a bit offensively, shooting just 42.3 percent (22-52); in fact, the Quakers shot better from beyond the arc (9-21, .429) than they did inside it (13-31, .419).
 
*Two days after shooting 49 free throws against D3 Rowan, Penn again found its way to the line plenty of times—the Quakers took 32 foul shots Sunday, compared to American's 23.
 
*Senior Michael Zanoni led Penn in the scoring column, with 20 points, and he was 6-of-10 on three-point shots which was one shy of his career high set last year at Penn State.
 
*Senior Ethan Roberts filled the box score again on Sunday, with 19 points, a game-high five assists, and four rebounds. He drew 12 fouls in Sunday's game and was 11-of-14 at the foul line.
 
*Senior Cam Thrower finished the game with 16 points, going a perfect 7-of-7 at the foul line and 4-of-7 from the field.
 
*Junior TJ Power started slow but worked his way into the game, finishing the day with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
 
*Junior Augustus Gerhart continued to bring energy at the center spot, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds (his career high) and adding eight points and two steals. Five of his boards came on the offensive glass.
 
*American got 25 points from Madden Collins—the son of former Temple star Mardy Collins—while Julen Iturbe added 16 and Geoff Sprouse chipped in with 10. Carson McDonald recorded 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Greg Jones finished the day with nine and seven.
 
How It Happened
Things were moving along just fine through seven minutes on Sunday, as Zanoni's second three-pointer of the day put the Quakers in front 14-11. The offense stagnated after that, though, and American took advantage—the Eagles scored five in a row to answer Zanoni's triple, then followed a Lucas Lueth foul shot with 12 in a row. Roberts hit a pair of free throws to end the run, but AU hit another bucket and the score was 30-17. In all, it was a 19-3 Eagles run.
 
Penn worked its way back. Roberts got the Red and Blue their first field goal in nearly six minutes with a steal and layup, and then another defensive stop turned into another Zanoni triple. It was the start of a 14-2 run, and when Thrower knocked down a pair of freebies with 2:43 left in the half Penn was within one at 32-31. American's lead was five (42-37) at the break.
 
AU went up nine after two possessions in the second half, but Penn refused to let the Eagles run away with things—Power and Roberts did a majority of the scoring as the Quakers got all the way back to within a point at 53-52 less than five minutes into the period.
 
While Penn was knocking on the door, it wasn't until there was a little over eight minutes left when the Quakers got their first lead since 14-13. Thrower started and finished the play that pushed Penn in front, feeding Roberts on the left wing and using a screen to go backdoor where Roberts found him for a reverse layup to make it 63-62.
 
American scored four of the next five points to go back in front, but a Zanoni triple put Penn up with 6:50 left, 67-66. Collins took over from there, though; he answered Zanoni's trey by dialing long-distance himself, then sandwiched a pair of buckets around a Roberts free throw. That put AU in front, 73-69, and then Iturbe delivered a major blow when the big man pulled up in transition and drained a three from the left wing to make it 76-70.
 
Zanoni answered that shot quickly, making it 76-73 with 4:15 left, but Penn went cold again after that (no points for 2:47) as American opened its lead up to seven. The Eagles delivered the knockout blow after a Power triple made it a four-point game, working the game clock down into the final minute before Sprouse calmly drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc.
 
Penn got within five on a pair of Thrower foul shots, and after a defensive stop the Quakers had three bites at the apple in the final seconds but missed on three different trey attempts.
 
Up Next
The Quakers continue this road swing on Tuesday at Providence College. Tipoff against the Friars is scheduled for 7 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.