In one of the best Penn-Princeton games in years, the Quakers held on to beat their arch rivals, 62-55, in overtime.
Penn jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start the game behind a hard-nosed layup by Harrison Gaines and five quick points on jumpers by Tyler Bernardini. Princeton recovered quickly with a three-pointer by Dan Mavraides and a lay-up by center Pawel Buczak that sparked am 8-0 run. The Tigers maintained momentum throughout the half until Kevin Egee nailed a three at the buzzer to give the Quakers a much-needed boost. Princeton led 31-29 at the break.
Penn came out guns blazing in the second frame with a lay-up by Bernardini and two more by Zack Rosen to start the half. Strong inside offense by Cameron Lewis, who got another start, helped the Quakers build a nine point lead with 9:06 to go in the game. But then the momentum swung back to the home team. The Tigers hit a three and then Penn forward Conor Turley got called for a flagrant foul and was ejected, which led to a few more free throws for Princeton on the next two possessions to tie the game at 45.
The Quakers recovered with two free throws on back-to-back possessions. After a Princeton free throw, Rosen hit another jumper, but another Mavraides three soon thereafter cut the lead to two, and Zack Finley hit two clutch free throws on the Tigers' last possession to send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, Bernardini hit one of two free throws on the Quakers' first possession, then Harrison Gaines added two more before Mavraides knifed through the Penn defense for a layup. Rosen responded with a long three that gave the Quakers enough momentum to lock down on defense, nail a few more free throws, and hold on for the win.
Check out Andrew Todres' live updates on The Buzz for complete coverage of tonight's game, and read a full recap and reaction in tomorrow's DP.
