The Eagles ruled the skies as Penn men's basketball fell 84-78 to American University in its second game of the season.
This was Penn’s (1-1) first Division I matchup after defeating Rowan on Friday. The Eagles (1-1) made their first appearance in March Madness after 11 years last season, and notched their first victory of the season after a late second-half comeback behind Eagles guard Madden Collins’ 25 points.
“Just had a hard fought game against a really good team. Some [of our] guys grew up, and some guys made some mistakes they'll learn from,” coach Fran McCaffery said.
The Quakers won the tip-off, but it was the Eagles who put the first points of the board with a three-pointer by the way of forward Julen Iturbe. American quickly put the pressure on Penn before fouls sent Penn to the charity stripe on multiple possessions. Free throws from senior guard/forward Ethan Roberts gave Penn its first lead of the day at 6-5.
After five minutes of first half play, sophomore guard AJ Levine was substituted by senior guard Cam Thrower, who served as Penn’s main point guard for the majority of the matchup. Levine, who came into the season as the presumptive point guard, finished with three turnovers and no points or assists.
With just over 14 minutes left, junior forward TJ Power converted his first points of the game on a contested layup, bringing Penn's lead to 4. American quickly responded to tie up the matchup, scoring on back to back possessions, before moving into a full-court press. Penn felt the pressure, accumulating six turnovers while American went on a 19-6 scoring run to lead 30-19.
During that scoring run, McCaffery, who built a reputation for being vocal with the referees at Iowa, had a heated exchange with a referee as American moved into the bonus.
With just over seven minutes left of the first half, Penn found the momentum it needed. Efforts from across the roster brought Penn within three points heading into the last three minutes of the half.
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American was not going into the locker room on a low note though. An exchange of points from beyond the arc on both sides kept the score close. American forward Greg Jones made a three pointer with 15 seconds left, keeping the Eagles on top 42-37 to close out the first half.
Through the second half, Thrower converted crucial lay-ins to stay within one point until American forward Carson McDonald expanded the Eagles’ lead to three. After a three minute scoring drought from both sides, Thrower broke through with consecutive layups to put the Quakers up 63-62 for its first lead since the first half with over nine minutes left of play.
The Eagles were able to build a six point lead in response even after sending Roberts to the free throw line four times. A three-pointer from Zanoni cut into the lead, but American kept the Quakers at bay by five points.
As the final minutes ticked away, the Eagles expanded their lead 80-73 behind the late-game heroics of guard Geoff Sprouse and Carson McDonald. An exchange of shots beyond the arc kept the Quakers trailing by seven points, but Penn was unable to come back. On the final possession, three consecutive missed 3-pointers from Penn sealed it for the Eagles.
For the Quakers, it was the trio of Roberts, Zanoni, and Thrower that showed out. The trio combined for 55 points. Zanoni was the team’s leading scorer with 20 points — shooting 60% from three. The total is Zanoni’s highest since Penn's matchup against Penn State last season, when he notched a career-high 27 points.
“[Zanoni has] been playing great from the minute I got here, very solid in every facet of the game. Terrific shooter,” McCaffery said.
“It was just great to see Zanoni in this element like that. I think just something he'll build off of too,” Power added. “We want him to be as aggressive as he can be. He has a great weapon with his shot, and it really opens the floor for us.
Roberts had 19 points under his name — 11 from the charity stripe. After being out all of last season due to injury, Thrower returned to the court as a big contributor off the bench — putting 16 points by the end of the day.
Penn finishes its road trip at Providence on Tuesday to complete three games in just five days’ time.
