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Penn's Playoff-Bid Clinching Night: A Minute-by-Minute Recap

03/04/2017, 11:45pm EST
By Will Slover

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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As Penn and Harvard got underway at the Palestra, only one thing was certain; if Penn won, they were in the Ivy League playoffs after starting the season 0-6. A Penn loss and a Columbia win over Yale would mean that Columbia entered the four-team tournament and if both teams fell, Columbia would also get the last playoff bid. Also, Cornell needed to top Brown so the Bears would be completely eliminated from contention. 

6:00 PM: Cornell and Brown tipoff at Brown, where a Cornell victory will bring good news for Penn if a tiebreaker comes into play. 

6:45 PM: Much to the liking of the Penn faithful, Cornell takes a 50-41 halftime lead over Brown. 

7:00 PM: Columbia and Yale get things started as Penn is honoring its two seniors, Dylan Jones and Matt Howard. Yale will need to defeat the Lions if Penn wants to keep its Ivy League playoff hopes alive. “I just wanted to come out here and be as aggressive as possible and just try to lead this team and that was just my mindset pretty much,” Howard said of his attitude heading into senior night “Just to stay and attack. Got nothing to lose, might as well go out shooting and attacking the paint and doing all the things I can do to help the team win.”

7:10 PM: After senior night ceremonies, Penn and Harvard get underway in the final Ivy League regular season contest of the season.

7:15 PM: As Penn takes an early 9-6 lead behind nine early points from Howard, Cornell is building its lead over Brown. The Big Red are on top 65-52 over the Bears with 11:08 to play and one-third of Penn’s magic formula is on its way to coming to fruition.

7:21 PM: While Cornell was doing its job for the Quakers, the same couldn’t be said for Yale as the Bulldogs were behind 18-10 to Columbia with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half. 

7:26 PM: As the second media timeout rolled around at the Palestra, Penn clung to an early 13-9 lead over Harvard. Columbia though, was beating up on Yale as the Lions extended their lead to 27-14 with 9:28 left in the first frame and although Penn and Cornell were doing what needed to be done, Penn’s playoff chances will be squashed unless all three outcomes occur. 

7:37 PM: A 10-0 run by Harvard gives the Crimson their first lead, 23-21, over Penn with 5:50 to play and triggers a Penn timeout. Cornell is still taking care of business over Brown with an 83-67 lead in the game’s final minutes. In New Haven, Yale is closing the gap on Columbia as the Lions’ lead is trimmed to 32-28 with 4:24 to play in the first half.

7:50 PM: A Robert Baker triple for Harvard following a slam from Penn’s Ryan Betley puts Harvard up 35-31 with 1:12 until the half and Penn calls a timeout. Just as this happens, Cornell tops Brown by a score of 92-78 despite 31 points from Brown’s Steven Spieth, which may not come into play but may also play a huge role for Penn.

7:56 PM: Penn and Harvard head into the half with Harvard still leading 35-31. Harvard is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field while Penn is struggling to get anything going offensively. Just as this game heads into the half, as does the Columbia-Yale contest. Yale has made things interesting there, as the Bulldogs have cut the Columbia lead to 37-34 at the intermission. At this point, though, the Yale/Columbia game is meaningless: even if the Lions lose, but Penn also loses, Columbia’s in. A Penn win, and the Quakers clinch.

8:08 PM:  As the second half is about to get underway at the Palestra, the action has already resumed in New Haven. Yale came out of the gate hot and tied things up with Columbia at 39 with just over 18 minutes of action left. 

8:11 PM: Darnell Foreman penetrates and kisses one off the glass to give Penn its first lead since the 7:00 mark in the first half. As Foreman’s basket falls through, all in attendance erupt as they know that Penn’s future relies solely on if the Quakers can win this contest. 

8:12 PM: Baskets from Howard and freshman AJ Brodeur cap off a 10-0 run from Penn which gives the Quakers a 41-37 lead  with 16:26 remaining and prompts Harvard to call a timeout. In New Haven, Columbia is clinging to a 50-46 lead over Yale with 14:26 left to play. 

8:24 PM: Just as Harvard jumps back ahead on Penn by a score of 46-45 on a Justin Bassey putback, Yale has taken its first lead, 57-55, over Columbia. Freshman Jordan Bruner has been huge for the Bulldogs in this contest as he has scored eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting off the bench.

8:31 PM: Just as Yale is putting things together, taking a 64-60 lead over Columbia with 7:06 to play, the exact opposite is happening for the Quakers in the Palestra. Harvard is holding onto a 55-51 lead and has just forced a shot-clock violation, which drew countless groans from the Penn faithful in attendance. 

8:41 PM: After a triple from Brodeur and a Devon Goodman steal and layup, Penn cuts the Harvard lead to 58-57 with 6:14 to play. Howard gets to the rack to try to take the lead but is fouled and knocks down 1-of-2 to knot things up at 58 and the Penn crowd responds accordingly. 

8:43 PM: On the next possession, Howard drilled an NBA-range three to put Penn ahead 61-58 and sent the Palestra into a frenzy. In New Haven, Yale is clinging to a 71-70 lead over Columbia with just two minutes to play but all attention at the Palestra is on the Quakers.

8:50 PM: An and-one from Howard led to an eruption from the Penn faithful as the senior guard set a new season-high for scoring on his senior night. Simultaneously, Yale and Columbia were going down to the wire as Yale held onto a 73-71 lead with five seconds left to play. 

8:52 PM: Yale completes the comeback over Columbia, battling from 13 down to win by a score of 75-71 in New Haven. At this point, all eyes are on the nail-biter at the Palestra as an off-balance layup from Howard gives Penn a 70-65 lead and a new career-high of 24 for the 6-foot-4 senior. 

8:56 PM: After Goodman hits a layup to give Penn a 72-67 lead, Harvard’s Bryce Aiken converts an and-one to cut the lead to 72-70 with under a minute to play and every person in the Palestra is on the edge of their seat. 

8:57 PM: Penn’s starting point-guard Darnell Foreman fouls out with 20.2 seconds to play and Penn leading 72-70. Foreman finished with seven points and three rebounds and leaves to a standing ovation. Foreman’s foul sends Aiken to the line to shoot a one-and one, where he drills both and ties things up at 72.

9:00 PM: Jackson Donahue drains a three-pointer from the wing to give Penn a 75-72 lead with 6.5 seconds left and the Palestra goes insane. Donahue had previously been silent in the game, as this triple had been his first field-goal attempt of the night in his 13 minutes of action. “Just remarkable, a really great performance. Harvard played well, it wasn’t like they cashed it in, they really played well. It came down to the last possession and we got it tonight,” Penn head coach Steve Donahue said. “It’s just about staying ready,” Jackson added. “That was a great designed play and we assumed someone was going to help somewhere and we were just going to find whoever made that mistake and Dev found me and that’s an open look for me so I knocked it down.”

9:01 PM: The final buzzer sounds and the Penn bench pours onto the floor in celebration and streamers fly from the stands as Penn is officially heading to the first ever Ivy League playoffs after starting off league play with an 0-6 record.

9:07 PM: Although the team had retreated to the locker room by this point, the atmosphere in the Palestra was still electric with not a single fan leaving their seat yet. Each and every person in attendance wanted to bask in the history they just witnessed in basketball’s most historic arena. 

9:11 PM: Steve Donahue enters the press room with Howard and Jackson Donahue. “It was a hell of a college basketball game,” head coach Donahue states. He could not be more right, as his Quakers went toe-to-toe with Harvard for 40 minutes and came out on top. 

9:13 PM: “I knew it was good when I caught it” Jackson Donahue states. After drilling one of the most important shots in Penn history, the sophomore guard still looks as calm as he did when he knocked down that triple just 13 minutes earlier. 

9:22 PM: “The story’s not done,” Steve Donahue states. His Penn Quakers are given an opportunity no other Ivy League team has been given before as in previous years an 0-6 start would have spelled the end for Penn but not with the tournament newly put in place for this season. “To play in March Madness, to possibly play in a championship game one hour before Selection Sunday. That’s cool for these kids, this isn’t the ACC or the Big East but we’re a damn good league and these kids get to experience March Madness. I think it’s pretty cool,” Donahue added. 

9:24 PM: “As soon as it left, I’m like, ‘Oh, damn. It’s in,” Donahue says of Jackson Donahue’s huge shot for Penn. Donahue had been on the bench for 10 minutes prior to drilling that triple and coming in for a fouled-out Foreman.

9:29 PM: As Penn’s postgame press conferences come to a close, there is still a huge contingent of Penn faithful filling the Palestra giving congratulations to everyone who is wearing any sort of Penn gear. 

9:30 PM: Howard, one of the stars of the night, emerges from the locker room to a “Matthew Howard!” chant from a section filled with 30-plus members of his family and friends. One of the all-time Penn greats can’t help but crack a smile as his senior night could not have ended in a more memorable fashion. 

9:55 PM: While all of the fans have cleared out of the Palestra by this point, most Penn players and their families are still sticking around in the world’s most historic arena. With the loads of history that have occurred in this building, tonight’s improbable outcome just adds onto the lure of the Palestra.

In 9,450 minutes, No. 4 Penn will take the court again against No. 1 Princeton to try to keep its cinderella season and hopes of making the NCAA Tournament alive. 


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