City of Basketball Love

Zach Drapkin (@ZachDrapkin) &
Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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It came down to the wire, but Penn held on to pick up a 77-74 win at La Salle on Wednesday night, its first victory in Big 5 play this season.

At First…

Falling behind 9-2 to Penn in the opening minutes, La Salle battled back to take a 14-12 lead with just under 14 minutes to go. After La Salle took the lead, Penn completely took over and used a 16-3 run right before the half to take a 40-27 lead into the break. Penn’s first half was highlighted by 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from freshman big man AJ Brodeur.

Turning Point…

After falling into early foul trouble, B.J. Johnson returned to the court in the second half for La Salle and his presence was felt immediately as he opened the half with a triple to cut the Penn lead to 10. For much of the half, Penn would keep La Salle at arms’ length until a 7-0 run from La Salle cut Penn’s lead to three, 69-66, with 2:24 to go. A three pointer from Jordan Price with two seconds left cut Penn’s lead down to one, 75-74, but Brodeur would seal the deal from the line and give Penn their first Big 5 victory of the season.

Standout Stars…

Brodeur caused problems for La Salle all night, going 14 of 19 from the field and 3 of 4 from long range en route to a career-high 35 points, along with six rebounds. Ryan Betley, a fellow freshman, added 13 for the Quakers, while Matt Howard finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, career highs of five assists and five steals, and no turnovers.

On the Explorers’ side, Johnson had a team-high 15 points, all of which came in the second half. Cleon Roberts and Amar Stukes each notched 14 and Jordan Price added 10 in the loss.

Noteworthy Numbers…

35: It was a career night for Brodeur, who finished with 35 points to lead Penn in scoring. That broke his previous career high of 27 points, which he set on December 30 against Fairfield.

30.8%: La Salle had a horrific night from beyond the arc, going 2-13 on long-range attempts in the first half and finishing the game 8-26 (30.8%) from three thanks to some late buckets down the stretch.

Up Next…

La Salle (11-7, 5-2 A-10) @ Saint Joseph’s (9-10, 2-5 A-10) -- Sat., Jan. 28, 6 PM
Penn (7-9, 0-3 Ivy) @ Harvard (10-5, 2-0) -- Fri., Feb. 3, 7 PM