To write a new chapter, you have to turn the page.
Penn men’s basketball did just that on Monday night, penning the first signature win of head coach Fran McCaffery’s era in a faceoff with the Penn program’s recent past. Matching up with Saint Joseph’s and former Penn coach Steve Donahue, the Quakers defeated the Hawks 83-74 behind a potent performance from their top duo — senior guard/forward Ethan Roberts and junior forward TJ Power combined for 54 points, earning Penn (2-2, 1-0 Big 5) its first win over St. Joe’s (2-2, 1-1) since 2019.
“Probably my favorite college game ever,” Roberts said. “I love this team so much. It can almost bring me to tears, how special this place is to me. … It means the world.”
Roberts, like most of Penn’s roster, was recruited to the Palestra by the coach on the opposite sideline. Donahue was first hired as an assistant coach for the Hawks in May following his firing from Penn but was promoted to head coach after Billy Lange’s surprising departure from St. Joe’s in October.
Facing his former team, Donahue said he did his best to divorce the personal from the professional.
“I tried to just work on the emotional side of this and take it out,” Donahue said. “I told myself, ‘It’s just a blue-and-white scrimmage, and I know all the guys, and I’m coaching this group.’ I thought I was able to do that. … For those [Penn] kids to get some success, they deserve it. I know they work hard.”
Power, a former five-star recruit in the high school Class of 2023, recorded the best game of his collegiate career after transferring to Penn last spring. After playing sparingly at Duke and Virginia, Power arrived in Philadelphia seeking a fresh start.
His pedigree showed against the Hawks, particularly in the early going. Power scored 18 of his 23 career-high total points in the first half, including a 4-of-6 clip from beyond the arc that demonstrated his floor-stretching potential.
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“I think high school,” Power said of the last time he scored more than 20 points in a game. “In those two years, you learn a lot, sitting the bench and seeing the game from that point of view, especially when you have expectations coming into college. It’s a humbling experience. … I’ve been waiting for a game like this for a long time.”
“I just hugged [Power] after the game,” McCaffery said. “I said, ‘This is what I’m talking about. You can be the best player in this league. And I love you.’”
After entering the second half tied at 41, Penn leaned on a senior-freshman duo coming out of the break. The Quakers’ first 18 points of the second half were all scored by either Roberts or freshman forward/center Dalton Scantlebury. In 10 minutes, Scantlebury racked up eight points, two offensive rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
And while Scantlebury subbed out with eight minutes left to play, Roberts stayed on — and stayed hot.
Roberts, who is averaging 23.3 points per game so far this season, got off to a self-proclaimed “rough” start. While Power rolled, Roberts managed just seven points in the first half, making two out of seven shots from the field. But in the second, he found his rhythm, connecting on jumpers and generating trips to the free-throw line with regularity.
“People are gonna have rough games, rough halves, rough segments. It is what it is,” Roberts said. “[Power] really carried us in the first half. I’m just doing my role, whatever that was at that time, getting him the ball, screening for him, stuff like that. I kind of just let the game come to me.”
That play culminated in a dominant scoring run with the game on the line. From 5:58 to six seconds left on the clock, Roberts scored all 11 of Penn’s points, giving the Quakers a 77-72 lead they would not relinquish.
As Penn corralled the securing rebound, sophomore guard AJ Levine waved goodbye to the visiting St. Joe’s crowd. A few possessions later, Levine wound up on the ground following a shove from Hawks guard Deuce Jones II.
But the win was already in Penn’s hands. Roberts, Levine, and the rest of the Quakers walked to midcourt, calling for noise from supporters of the Red and Blue in the crowd.
Just like the team, the fans delivered.
“It was special,” Power said. “The Palestra is a really special place.”
