PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team led Rutgers for more than 35 minutes Saturday night at Jersey Mike's Arena, and the Quakers were up 68-62 with a little more than a minute remaining.
 
(Did we mention the Red and Blue were playing without leading scorer Ethan Roberts, still out due to the injury he suffered against Villanova?)
 
So it was the biggest of gut punches when the Scarlet Knights' Tariq Francis stepped right into a three-point shot and saw it swish through the basket with 0.9 seconds left. The shot gave Francis 34 points for the night and allowed Rutgers an gain an improbable, 70-69 win in front of a boisterous crowd of 8,000.
 
The result left Penn at 6-5 on the season while Rutgers improved to 6-6.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn lost for the first time this season when shooting a better field-goal percentage than its opponent (42.6 to Rutgers' 41.1); the Quakers were 5-0 in such games prior to Saturday.
 
*Penn also lost for the first time this season when outrebounding its opponent (42-29); the Red and Blue were 5-0 in those games prior to Saturday.
 
*Penn's +13 rebound margin was its second-best this season against a Division I opponent, surpassed only by the +14 (46-32) the Quakers pinned on Merrimack on November 28.
 
*Penn had 12 offensive rebounds, compared to eight by Rutgers, and finished with a 20-5 advantage on second-chance points.
 
*Junior TJ Power posted his third double-double of the season, leading Penn with 19 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds which was two shy of his season/career best. Power has scored in double figures in all 10 of Penn's Division I games this season, and he also added two assists and two blocked shots.
 
*Freshman Dalton Scantlebury had another active night off the bench, finishing with 13 points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
 
*Michael Zanoni scored 12 points, his sixth double-figure scoring game this season.
 
*Senior Cam Thrower finished with 11 points, including a perfect 6-of-6 performance at the foul line, and added five rebounds—a season high and one shy of his career best—and three assists.
 
*Freshman Jay Jones scored eight points, giving him 26 across Penn's last five games after he scored 12 in the first six.
 
*Francis was Rutgers' only double-digit scorer on Saturday night as he shot 9-14 from the field and made 15 of 19 free throws (drawing 11 fouls on the night). Dylan Grant and Jamichael Davis had eight points each—Davis adding four steals—while Darren Buchanan Jr. finished the night with six points, six rebounds, and four of the Scarlet Knights' seven assists.
 
How It Happened
Denis Badalau opened the scoring Saturday night at JMA, but Zanoni and Power took over from there as Penn scored the next 10 points. Rutgers responded with an 8-2 run to get within two, at 12-10 , and it was still 21-18 with seven minutes to go when Thrower got a bucket and Power drained a triple. Rutgers got back within three, but Thrower was involved in the next five points—first when he got a rebound and found Alex Massung in stride behind the Rutgers defense for a layup, then with a 3FG that got Penn's lead back up to 31-23 with 1:31 left in the half. Rutgers outscored Penn 6-2 the rest of the way, and the score was 33-29 at the half
 
Neither team scored a field goal for first 2:26 of the second half, but Zanoni and Thrower free throws during that span put Penn up by eight again, at 37-29. A Davis trey got Rutgers going, however, and when Grant scored on a driving layup with 14:39 left the Scarlet Knights' run was 14-4 and they had their first lead since 2-0 at 43-41.
 
Penn didn't wilt, scoring the next three points, and the teams traded the lead four more times after that. The last came when Massung laid it in righty from a tough angle and was the start of a 6-0 run that had Penn up 52-47 as the half reached its midpoint.
 
Rutgers got back within 54-53 by the under-8 media timeout, at 7:55, then took the lead out of the stoppage. Scantlebury had the answer, scoring underneath himself and then throwing one down off a Levine feed to put Penn in front. A little more than a minute later, he hit one of two foul shots, and Penn's lead was 59-55 as the clock went under five minutes.
 
Another Scantlebury putback made it 61-57, and a second-chance Zanoni triple was followed by Thrower driving and hitting a fallaway jumper along the left baseline. That made the score 66-59 with 2:24 to play, and Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiel was calling a timeout.
 
The Scarlet Knights went to Bryce Dortch, who hit one of two foul shots and then forced a jump ball on his missed shot. That gave possession back to RU and Francis got to the line, hitting a pair of free throws to make the score 66-62 as the clock went under two minutes.
 
Power—at this point wearing a wrap around his head after getting bloodied in a collision that forced him to get stitches after the game—was immense on Penn's next possession, rebounding his own miss and putting it home for a 68-62 lead with 1:41 left. When Davis missed a three and Penn got the ball when it went out of bounds. Things were feeling pretty good. However, the Quakers turned it over on the inbounds (the call reversing from Penn to Rutgers after a review), and Francis was fouled again quickly after that. He made one of two shots, but it was still a five-point game as the clock went under a minute.
 
Penn broke Rutgers' press and got the ball over the timeline before it was lost out of bounds. Francis quickly drove downhill and was fouled, making both to get the Knights within three. At the other end, Jones drove for a layup and was off the mark, then fouled Francis who again hit both free throws to make it 68-67 with 28.6 seconds left.
 
Penn again broke Rutgers' press and the Knights were forced to foul Power, who made one of two which got the margin back to two. RU came down the floor and it was Harun Zrno who took a three-point shot that would give the hosts the lead. It missed, though, and Scantlebury came up with the rebound. Once again, Rutgers had to foul and they did. This time, both shots were missed and that allowed Francis to take it down the floor and bury what would prove to be the winner.
 
Penn still had 0.9 to play with after the basket, and after a timeout threw a long pass down the floor that hit the scoreboard above the court. That gave the ball to Rutgers, who got it to Francis. Penn fouled him immediately, with 0.6 on the clock, and after missing the first he missed the second on purpose. Penn got the rebound but could only fire a length of the court shot that never had a chance.
 
Up Next
Penn is off until Sunday, Dec. 28, when the Quakers play at George Mason. Tip time is scheduled for 5 p.m. at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Va.
 
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.