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Woods' absence evident in Penn's loss to Princeton

01/10/2016, 1:15am EST
By Ari Rosenfeld

Tyler Hamilton (above) is one of several freshmen who stepped up in Penn's loss to Princeton. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_rosenfeld)
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Penn has been in this position before; not too long ago, in fact.

When it was determined just before the start of the season that Tony Hicks would play out his final year of eligibility elsewhere, the Quakers found themselves searching for a go-to guy.

As non-conference play unfolded, sophomore lead guard Antonio Woods had begun to fill that role, coming up huge down the stretch in multiple close games. He’s averaged nearly 11 points per game thus far, also dishing out 3.3 assists per contest.

Now, however, with Woods declared academically ineligible just before the start of the Ivy League season, the Quakers are seemingly back to square one. It didn’t take long for Woods’ absence to rear its ugly head, as Penn’s offense wilted down the stretch in its Ivy opener against archrival Princeton, allowing the Tigers to climb out of two late holes and win, 73-71, in overtime.

On the heels of a 19-4 second half run, the Quakers led 64-53 with 3:38 to play. They scored just two points over the remainder of regulation, with a discombobulated possession resulting in a Darien Nelson-Henry miss at the buzzer that would’ve won the game had it fallen.

Then, in overtime, a Jackson Donahue 3-pointer gave Penn a 71-66 lead with 3:12 to play, but the Quakers wouldn’t score another point, watching Princeton make seven free throws for the final score.

Overall, Steve Donahue’s squad missed all but three of its final 12 field goal attempts after going up 11 and turned the ball over four times down the stretch, clearly missing Woods’ innate ability to create shots in such high-pressure moments.

“That’s probably where we miss Antonio the most,” Donahue said. “We’d gotten to a point where we figured out that Antonio is so good in end of the clock situations, great poise, He was getting better and I think there’s an adjustment there.”

Those within the program were informed of Woods’ situation just last night, not allowing any time to install a late-game offense that isn’t centered around the team’s most dynamic scorer.

The Quakers tried running their late game offense through Nelson-Henry, but found that increasingly difficult down the stretch; the senior big man was held scoreless over the last 9:50 of game time, missing all three of his shot attempts and turning the ball over twice in that span.

“It’s hard to continue to play off a big. If the spacing is not perfect, they can take advantage of it. I thought we saw that the last couple times,” Donahue said. “We’d gotten into a rhythm where we can settle ourselves and [Woods] can space them out... I’ve got to do a better job now of putting us in a better position towards the end and figuring out what’s our best option at that point.”

Without Woods for the foreseeable future, some added responsibility falls onto the shoulders of two freshmen, guards Jake Silpe and Jackson Donahue.

Both have started several games already this season, but the duo played 42 and 41 minutes, respectively, against Princeton. Silpe had a career-high 11 points and seven assists, but also turned it over seven times. Donahue scored 16 points, continuing his strong play of late, but lacks the ability to create his own shot that Woods has.

All things considered, it was an impressive effort from the rookie duo, thrown into the fire in their first experience in the historic Penn-Princeton rivalry.

“I think it’s great that we can play two freshmen guards in a Penn-Princeton game and expect the poise and toughness that they showed. Not just shot-making, but these kids compete,” Donahue said. “That’s how we’re gonna build this program into a champion. Guys like that.”

A third freshman, Georgia native Tyler Hamilton, will also see an uptick in minutes in Woods’ absence.

An athletic, 6-foot-4 wing, Hamilton was out of the rotation until just a couple games ago. He played 17 minutes against Princeton and scored seven points to go along with five boards, knocking down two three-pointers during Penn’s go-ahead second half run.

“Seeing the first one go down got my confidence up, and I just kept attacking and waiting for open opportunities,” Hamilton said. “I know the coaches are confident in me and they’ve just been developing me since I’ve gotten here. I’ve matured so much since the first time I stepped on campus, and just gradually I’ve gotten better and better.”

To rely so heavily on such inexperienced players and still have multiple chances to knock off one of the Ivy League’s top teams in a Princeton squad that was picked third in the league prior to the season.

Each of the three freshmen had their ups and downs, showing glimpses of what they can bring to the Quaker offense at their best.

With Woods sidelined, though, and a trio of rookies tasked with replacing him, it’s frankly tough to see Penn coming out on the winning side of these tightly contested games more often than not.

“We’ll get better and I think this was a great experience for Jake and Jackson, they did a great job, and we’ll learn and we’ll adjust without [Woods],” Donahue said. “You’re going to miss a player like [Woods]. I think he’s one of the best players in this league and we’re gonna miss him.”


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