Feeling the Blues at Palestra

Big shots and big blunders, an on-court skirmish from the players and some off-court profanity from the student section — even an Oscar winner to go with all the usual grouches in the stands.

Yes, Penn’s home opener delivered on all fronts for the Palestra faithful. Except, of course, on one.

The Quakers fell, 97-94, in double overtime against Delaware Saturday night, squandering a 15-point second-half lead to drop to 0-3 on the season.

“I’ve been in so many battles like that in this building,” said Blue Hens coach Monte Ross, who served as an assistant at Saint Joseph’s for 10 seasons. “It’s like ghosts of Palestra’s past or something.”

Junior Jawan Carter, playing all but two of the game’s 50 minutes, led the road squad with 35 points — 19 coming on his 26 free throw attempts. But it was a shot he missed that set up the Blue Hens’ game-saving play.

After sophomore Penn point guard Zack Rosen had broken an 80-80 tie on a gutsy driving layup with 13 seconds to play in regulation, Carter pulled up for what would have been the game-winning three.

The attempt rimmed out, but sophomore forward Hakim McCullar soared through the lane to convert a left-handed tip-in at the horn.

“We didn’t box out in a critical situation,” Quakers coach Glen Miller said. “We’re a few stops away from winning that game.”

By the time two last-second free throws from Delaware’s D.J. Boney had forced a second overtime, Rosen and sophomore guard/forward Rob Belcore had fouled out for Penn. Already playing without injured starters Tyler Bernardini (foot) and Andreas Schreiber (shoulder), the Quakers had difficulty establishing an offensive flow.

Freshman Malcolm Washington — with father Denzel in attendance — took the reins at the point, but could not contain Carter on the defensive end, sending him to the line for six free throws in a span of two-plus minutes.

With the Quakers trailing by three in the final seconds, Washington found himself with a decent look at an elbow three, but his attempt sailed long off the glass.

“That’s a tough way to go out in the home opener,” said sophomore Mike Howlett, who pulled in a game-high 14 rebounds to go with 14 points, but missed a buzzer-beater at the end of the first overtime. “We’re all just trying to stick together.”

Following double-digit road losses to big-conference powers Penn State and Villanova in its first two games, the Red and Blue stormed out of the gate in their first Palestra action of the young season.

Over a five-minute stretch early in the first half, the team converted six straight trifectas, opening up a 26-8 lead with 11:38 remaining in the half. (The 18 points was Penn’s biggest lead of the night.)

Moments later, a hard foul from Blue Hens’ freshman Kevin McNeil prompted a multi-player shoving match near the paint, leading to double technicals on Penn’s Jack Eggleston and soon-to-be protagonist McCullar, who was jeered lustily by the home crowd the rest of the way.

With sophomore captain Rosen running the show — his career-high 25 points and five assists paced the Quakers — Penn weathered a mild Delaware rally to maintain a 10-point halftime edge.

The lead grew to 15, 67-52, with 11:50 to play, before the Blue Hens’ backcourt tandem of Carter and junior Alphonso Dawson took over.

Draining open looks and contested jumpers alike, the duo combined for 63 points on the night, shrinking the deficit to set up McCullar’s last-second heroics.

“That’s how you win — you’ve got to have a few guys who can make the big plays in big spots,” Miller said. “We obviously were having a difficult time with Carter. … He’s a very good one-on-one player.”

Or, put another way, to honor the Palestra’s newest celebrity regular: He got game.

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