Conference wins seem to be increasingly harder to come by for Penn men’s basketball.
Against a one-win Columbia team, the Quakers hoped to be up by a much larger margin, but they find themselves leading at the break, 35-30.
After starting the game a disappointing 1-of-7 from the field, the Quakers suddenly retook the lead thanks to guards Ray Jerome and Antonio Woods hitting three triples in a row. While the starting five was unable to find much success on offense in the early going, Jerome provided a much-needed scoring burst off the bench, finishing the half with nine points.
The bench led the way for the Quakers, providing 20 of their 35 points.
Columbia kept up the energy it brought at the start of the game, however, not letting the Quakers establish any sort of lead. The Lions dominated the interior on both ends of the floor, putting up 18 points in the paint to Penn’s 12. Columbia also effectively neutralized the Quakers’ top scorer, junior forward AJ Brodeur, who was 0-for-3 in the half, scoring no points.
Even though Columbia sits at the bottom of the Ancient Eight standings, the Lions played the Quakers close in their first meeting, eventually losing 72-70. Penn coach Steve Donahue has reinforced the idea all season long that there are no easy wins in Ivy League, and the Lions are showing everyone why.
A full recap of the game can be found here.
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