City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The Penn Quakers dropped a heartbreaker in just their fourth game of the season, as Navy’s Shawn Anderson converted the go-ahead layup to lift the Midshipmen to a 70-68 win in Annapolis, Md. on Saturday afternoon.

At First…
One of Penn’s only two leads – both of which were held very briefly – in the first half came off of a Jackson Donahue triple that opened the game’s scoring at 3-0, Quakers. From there, Navy (3-4) took over, ripping off a 13-4 run, to which the Quakers responded by snatching a short 14-13 advantage on a Darnell Foreman jumper.

Navy quickly took the lead back and built it to as many as thirteen points by the end of the first half. The Midshipmen (3-4) entered the break with a 46-36 lead, on the wings of two late threes by Hasan Abdullah.

Turning Point…
When the Quakers (2-2) opened the second half on a 14-4 run that quickly tied the game at 50, it became clear they were in for a tight finish. Penn ended up leading by as many as seven in the final five minutes of play, 68-61, thanks to another clutch Donahue three-pointer.

From there, it was all Midshipmen. Navy closed the game on a 9-0 run, with the go-ahead layup coming from Shawn Anderson with 16 seconds on the clock. Penn committed a costly turnover on the following possession that set up Anderson to make one more free throw with a second on the clock to seal it for the Midshipmen.

Standout Stars…
Anderson came off the bench to lead a balanced Navy attack with 15 points, hitting five of his 11 field-goal attempts on the afternoon. Abdullah and Ryan Pearson added 11 each for the Midshipmen; junior forward Tom Lacey had eight points and 14 rebounds.

Penn was led by 15 from junior guard Caleb Wood, who went 6-for-12 overall (3-8 3PT), but the junior college transfer also committed six turnovers without an assist. Sophomore guard Jackson Donahue had a dozen for the Quakers, who also got 10 apiece from freshman big man A.J. Brodeur and junior wing Matt MacDonald.

Noteworthy Numbers…
321: The Quakers didn’t score for the final five minutes and 21 seconds of the contest, after a Donahue 3-pointer make it 68-61 in Penn’s favor. The Quakers missed their final seven shots and committed two turnovers over those nine possessions as Navy closed the game on a 9-0 run.

.385: Penn knocked down 10 of its 26 3-point attempts for a 38.5 percent conversation rate, keeping up a solid start to the season in long-range shooting. Donahue (4-10) and Wood (3-8) were the main contributors, though MacDonald knocked down both of his attempts as well.

Up Next... 
Penn (2-2) vs. No. 2 Villanova – Tues., Nov. 29 @ 7:00 p.m.