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For the third straight game, Penn basketball got off to a slow start.

The Quakers were down by double digits soon within seven minutes of tip-off and struggled to hang with Lafayette, finding themselves down, 45-30, at the half.

The Red and Blue turned the ball over on each of their first three possessions of the game, prompting a quick timeout from coach Jerome Allen.

From there, Penn couldn’t contain Lafayette’s senior-laden offense. Led by 12 points from senior point guard Joey Ptasinski, the Leopards were scoring early and often on the Red and Blue, just four days after taking down the Quakers’ Ancient Eight rival Princeton.

Lafayette shot 59.3 percent from the field, including six three-pointers. Meanwhile, the Red and Blue found no luck from long range, going 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Penn tried to fight back offensively, led by junior captain Tony Hicks. Hicks got the team going with some early midrange jumpers and proceeding to find some success dishing to fellow-junior Darien Nelson-Henry in the post.

For the second straight game, freshman forward Mike Auger also had a solid contribution from the post, grabbing four offensive boards and adding six points as well.

But just when Penn cut into Lafayette’s double-digit lead late in the half, the Leopards responded with a 4-0 run to close the opening period.

On the final play of the half, a miscommunication between Hicks and Woods led to a lackluster three-point attempt, giving the Leopards a 45-30 advantage going into halftime.

Follow the rest of the action here.

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