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Quick Report: Penn 75, Harvard 72

03/04/2017, 9:00pm EST
By Will Slover

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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In a back-and-forth contest at the Palestra, Jackson Donahue drilled a three with six seconds left to send Penn to the Ivy League playoffs with a 75-72 win over Harvard. 

At First…
After being honored pregame in the senior night celebrations, Matt Howard came out of the gates firing as the Columbia, South Carolina native scored Penn’s first 11 points to give the Quakers an early 11-9 lead over Harvard. After Penn took a 21-13 lead with 8:48 left in the first half, Harvard spun off a 12-0 run to jump ahead 25-21 with 4:50 to play before the half. The two teams traded blows for the remainder of the half and Harvard took a 35-31 lead into the break. Howard continued to turn in a strong performance for Penn, as he finished the frame with 13 points and six rebounds. Harvard was led by eight points a piece from Bryce Aiken and Zena Edosomwan.

Penn came out of the second half hot and spun off a 10-0 run to jump ahead 41-37 with 16:55 left to play. The two teams battled back and forth for much of the half, but Harvard jumped ahead 57-51 with 8:28 to play, giving the Crimson its largest lead of the second frame. 

Turning Point…
Penn rattled off an 11-0 run over the course of 2:14 to take a 63-58 lead over Harvard. The run was capped off by a Howard triple fro way beyond the arc that sent everyone in the Palestra to their feet. Harvard didn't go away quietly though, as the Crimson battled from down 72-67 to tie things up at 72 on two Aiken free throws with 16 seconds remaining. Jackson Donahue drilled a three from the wing with six seconds to play that gave Penn its final lead, 75-72. 

Standout Stars…
In his final regular season game as a Quaker, Howard made his presence felt. The 6-foot-4 guard rode his strong first half performance to finish with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting while also adding in 12 rebounds, and three blocks. Freshman forward AJ Brodeur also played a huge role for Penn as the 6-foot-8 big man chipped in with another 15 points and reeled in seven rebounds.

For Harvard, the trio of Edosomwan, Aiken, and Siyani Chambers led the way. Although Edosomwan found himself in foul trouble, picking up his fourth with six minutes still to play, that didn’t stop the senior forward. He went on to finish with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting to pace the Crimson. Aiken and Chambers aided Edosomwan in carrying the scoring load, adding in 17 and 12, respectively. 

Noteworthy Numbers…
10: The Quakers only assisted on 10 of their made baskets on Saturday afternoon, their third lowest total of the 2016-17 season. 

12: There were a total of 12 lead changes and ties in Saturday night’s back-and-forth affair. The game was deadlocked four times and there were eight lead changes, with the last one coming in Penn/Harvard’s favor with 6.5 seconds to play. 

3: Donahue only had three points on the night, but they were the three most important as his triple with 6.5 seconds left was the deciding factor in this one.

Up Next:
Penn (13-14, 6-8 Ivy League) vs. Princeton, Ivy League Playoffs -- Sat., March 11
Harvard (18-9, 10-4 Ivy League) vs. Yale, Ivy League Playoffs -- Sat., March 11

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