Toole claims weekly Ancient Eight accolade

In recent league play, the Penn men's basketball team has kicked its offense effort into overdrive.

Much of the credit for this recent surge must be given, undoubtedly, to this week's Ivy League player of the week -- Andrew Toole.

Toole, Penn's starting point guard, is averaging 14.8 points per game in Ancient Eight matchups, along with 2.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

Despite playing under 30 minutes in each contest, the junior transfer from Elon College averaged 19.0 points, 4.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds in the Quakers most recent slaughters of Dartmouth, Harvard and Princeton.

The recent wins keep Penn in the Ivy League title hunt. However, Yale only has one loss in league play thus far.

Toole hit at least four three-pointers in each game, shooting 58 percent in the three league matchups.

"We're getting open and hitting our shots, and it just makes it a lot better and a lot more fluid on offense," Toole said.

In the Red and Blue's resounding 100-62 victory over the Big Green, Toole dropped a career high 23 points in just 24 minutes. Toole's string crucial plays early in the second half, including a three-point basket, a jumper, a steal and two free throws, propelled the Quakers to reach the coveted cheesesteak mark.

"I just got a lot of good shots at the beginning of the game and was fortunate to knock them down," Toole said on Saturday after the Dartmouth obliteration.

"My teammates found me when I was open, and I was glad I could make them."

The junior's 23 points was his high in a Quakers' uniform. He scored 28 while at Elon College.

In addition to his performance over the past week, Toole has been a consistent force on the somewhat up-and-down Penn squad.

Toole leads the Ivy League in free throw percentage, shooting 87.9 percent this season. Penn's floor general is also hitting an impressive 46.3 percent of his attempts from behind the arc -- the third-best in the Ancient Eight.

Despite missing nearly one month of the season -- including consecutive contests against St. Joseph's, Davidson, Temple and Lehigh in December and early January -- due to an injury to his foot, Toole recovered quickly and has emerged as Penn's most consistent guard.

The Red and Blue currently stand third in the Ivy League behind Princeton and Yale and cannot afford to lose another Ancient Eight contest. They will count on Toole's presence in the backcourt as they make their final run at an NCAA bid.

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