City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Penn capped off a home Ivy League weekend sweep on Saturday night, downing Harvard, 67-57. Darien Nelson-Henry had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Quakers, who beat Dartmouth for their first Ivy League win on Friday night.

At first…
Neither offense had a particularly good first half, and Penn held a slim, 27-25, margin at the break. The Quakers shot 37.5 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Crimson were at a 30.3 percent clip. And aside from Harvard taking a 7-0 lead out of the gate, neither side could get separation.

Turning point…
On a fast break in the final five minutes, Darnell Foreman found Nelson-Henry on a fast break that resulted in an easy score for the big man and a 10-point lead for the Quakers. They led comfortably for the rest of the game, putting it away with free throws in the final two minutes.

Shining stars….
Nelson-Henry came up big for the second consecutive night. His double-double came barely 24 hours after he put up 19 points against Dartmouth. Nelson-Henry was also coming off an ankle injury that caused him to miss nearly all of last weekend’s games against Yale and Brown.

Noteworthy numbers…
Penn outrebounded Harvard, 53-32, and the Quakers grabbed 15 boards on the offensive end. …The teams combined to shoot two free throws in the first half, and each team made one. …The Quakers had three players grab at least nine rebounds, the Crimson had just one player hit that mark.

Up next…
Penn (8-11, 2-3 Ivy) at Columbia (2/12, 7 p.m.)
Harvard (9-13, 1-5) vs. Brown (2/12, 7 p.m.)