Quick Report: Princeton 73, Penn 71

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_rosenfeld)
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In the Ivy League’s oldest rivalrly, Penn took on Princeton for the 233rd meeting between the two programs.

Princeton emerged from the Palestra with a thrilling 73-71 overtime victory, as the Quakers missed multiple buzzer-beating looks.

At first…
Amir Bell’s 17 points had Princeton up 36-29 at halftime. The teams traded baskets for the early portion of the second half, with Penn continuously cutting its deficit to just two points before giving up points on the other end. The Quakers were ultimately able to go on an elongated 14-2 run, with six buckets by six different players giving them a 59-51 lead with just under five minutes to play. A Darnell Foreman triple followed by a Darien Nelson-Henry block sent Penn into the under-4 media timeout with a 52-43 lead. Princeton chipped away from there before Devin Cannady’s floater tied the game at 66 with 20 seconds left

Turning point…
Nelson-Henry got a decent look at a game-winning layup following a frantic Quaker possession, but his shot rimmed out and forced overtime. After a series of stops by both teams, Penn’s Foreman converted a tough layup, plus the foul. He missed the free throw, but a long offensive board led to an open Jackson Donahue triple, which he knocked down for a 71-66 lead. The Quakers went cold from there, while Princeton knocked down seven straight free throws to take a two-point lead with seven seconds to play. Foreman got a look at a tying layup but failed to convert.

Shining stars…
Nelson-Henry led Penn with 17 points and also hauled in seven boards, continuing his strong senior season. Freshman guard Jake Silpe played a strong all-around game at the point, setting a career-high with 17points and also dishing seven assists and corralling seven rebounds.

Sophomore swingman Bell carried the Tiger offense all game, knocking down four treys and using his length at 6-foot-3 to finish over Penn’s smaller guards inside. He finished with a career-high 28 points.

Noteworthy numbers…
The Quakers struggled with turnovers all night, coughing the ball up 18 times. Silpe was a main culprit with seven giveaways.

While Bell was able to tie his career high by halftime, Penn put the clamps on Princeton’s Henry Caruso. The Ivy League’s second-leading scorer at 17.1 points per game, the junior forward managed just eight points on3-for-11 shooting.

The loss drops the Quakers series lead 124-109 in this historic rivalry, which dates back to 1903. Princeton has won seven of the last eight matchups.

Up next…
Penn (7-7, 1-0 Ivy) vs. Saint Joseph’s (11-3) (Jan. 20, 9:30 p.m.)
Princeton (9-5, 0-1 Ivy) vs. Bryn Athyn (Jan. 24, 2 p.m.)