After besting Dartmouth in a second-half comeback, a clinched spot in Ivy Madness is just one game away for Penn men’s basketball.
In Friday’s win, junior forward TJ Power’s heroics propelled Penn to a win in a close second half, as he notched a double-double with 38 points and 12 rebounds. Tomorrow’s game gives Penn the chance to secure their Ivy Madness berth.
If all the stars aligned, the evening of Feb. 27 could have already been a time of celebration for Penn — wins by Yale, Harvard, and the Red and Blue in their respective games would have confirmed the Quakers’ participation in Ivy Madness before their last two regular-season games.
Although Penn won 80-71 against Dartmouth, Yale lost its game at Cornell, which keeps the Quakers (14-11, 7-5 Ivy) at third in the Ivy League standings. The top four qualify for the tournament.
“Now that we’re close, and guys can feel it, it’s just up in our energy level a lot, but we got to stay focused,” Power said, looking ahead to the second game of the doubleheader.
But for now, here’s how today’s game unfolded at the Palestra.
A weak start, again
The flows of this game mimicked those of the first matchup of the season, where the Quakers trailed Dartmouth (11-14, 5-7) for much of the game before rallying from behind for a close second quarter and the win.
Dartmouth created separation early on in the first period, as the Big Green simply had the hot hands. In the first half, Dartmouth made six of their 11 three-point attempts, carried by guard Cameron McNamee who made all four of his three-point attempts in the half. Threes by McNamee and Connor Amundsen lifted Dartmouth to a 12-point lead.
But even on an offense that didn’t involve the three-point line, Dartmouth was simply better. By passing inside and sharing the ball, one of their players inevitably found himself open to take a shot, which resulted in 20 paint points for the Big Green. They were the first team that managed to get into the foul bonus, drawing offensive foul after offensive foul. In the end, Penn was trailing by eight points at halftime.
“I think [senior guard/forward Ethan Roberts] … was a little off tonight,” coach Fran McCaffery said post-game. “Michael was a little bit off. But I was really pleased with our bench, clearly, the defense in the second half, not so much in the first half.”
TJ Power, man of the hour
Power must just really love playing against Dartmouth. After a 27-point performance in the first matchup, he scored a career-high 38 today, almost half of Penn’s 80-point total. He shot 64% from the field and 75% from three, making six out of his eight three-point attempts.
“His versatility was on full display tonight, and that’s what I wanted for him,” McCaffery said. “He can get it off the glass and bring it himself. We can isolate him at the elbow. We can clear aside for him. We can post him up. He’s got the ultimate green light. Pull from three. Shoot your pull up.”
He consistently delivered when the Quakers needed someone to step up — the majority of his first-half points were three-pointers that prevented the Big Green from ever fully pulling away. No player besides Power scored more than 10 points in the game.
In the second half, at times it could feel like he was the only player on the court for the Quakers. He was the only scorer for Penn during a five-minute stretch of the half, and piled a total of 22 points onto the 16 he had already accumulated in the first. He continued to lay it on Dartmouth until the last minute, only resting for a mere 15 seconds towards the end of the first half.
When asked how prepared he feels for Saturday after tonight’s effort, all Power had to say was: “[I’m] fresh as can be. I’m ready.”
Here’s to hoping the Quakers get a good night’s sleep to prepare for Saturday’s game against Harvard at 6 p.m., a game that could seal their Ivy Madness participation.
