FINAL: Penn 90, UIC 76

Penn faces a winnable and losable mathcup against Illinois-Chicago tonight at the Palestra. The Flames are 6-6 but have plenty of weapons. Refresh this page for live updates.

FINAL Penn 90, UIC 76

That's all from the Palestra. This one was way closer than the score would indicate, but still one that the Quakers desperatly needed. Have a great Christmas break, and look for more updates from The Buzz after Penn plays Seton Hall on the 23rd.

1:03 Penn 88, UIC 76

Brennan Votel gets into the act at just the right time, scoring to answer a quick three by the Flames. This one should be over.

2:07 Penn 82, UIC 71

The Quakers have played smart in these past minutes and have things under control barring a major collapse.

A pleasant surprise from McMahon, who hit a tough fadaway with the clock running low. He has been caught napping more than once tonight, so that's certainly good to see.

5:00 Penn 77, UIC 69

Oh boy. Nothing is going right for UIC, and it took a comical turn when Jeffers and VanderMeer end up turning the ball over after fighting with each other for a rebound (each thought his opponent was a Penn player).

Danley is back in with four fouls, but its been all Grandieri and Zoller in the second. Zoller hit another three and cleaned up a missed Brennan Votel three, and Grandieri scored in transition.

7:39 Penn 70, UIC 66

Well, the Flames may not be getting to the basket easily, but they are still cleaning up the glass. An offensive rebound lets Mayo drain an open three, and Jeffers gathers his own miss on the next possession to draw a foul. Two makes later and its a four-point game.

9:03 Penn 68, UIC 61

Wow. What a turnaround by Penn. Grandieri adds four more points on a pull-up jumper in the lane and a pair of free throws, and UIC is no longer getting to the basket with ease.

The Quakers could have gotten to 70, but Zoller just missed two free throws. He has been cold from the field all night.

11:32 Penn 63, UIC 61

Zoller finally rattles in a trey from the top of the key, and this game is tied! Considering there are only about 1500 fans here, the Palestra is damn loud.

Then Grandieri is fouled trying for a rebound and drains both to give Penn a lead. Maybe that's what it took to convince Glen Miller to switch up defenses, as we're now seeing a zone out of Penn for the first time tonight.

13:28 Penn 56, UIC 60

An impressive few minutes for Grandieri. He alertly scored on a tip-in off an entry pass from Jaaber and then drew a tough foul.

But Jeffers is still doing his thing, pulling up for a jumper from the elbow in transition to keep the Quakers from getting closer than four.

15:39: Penn 53, UIC 57

The Quakers have finally picked up the shooting from distance. Danley, Grandieri and Egee all drill three-pointers, and Egee cut inside for an easy layup in transition on the possesion after that.

Jeffers continues to terrorize Penn off the dribble. On the last play, he was blocked on a 10-footer by Grandieri but still managed to muscle the jump shot in. He will shoot one after the timeout.

On a side note, Ibrahim Jaaber has just become the all-time Ivy League steals leader, so congratulations are certainly in order on that front.

19:14: Penn 40, UIC 46

Not a great way to start the second half. Danley made a tough driving layup, but UIC's 5-10 point guard Josh Mayo was fouled. Then, McMahon was called for a technical foul for an elbow to the face. Mayo's FTs put UIC up by six.

Halftime: Penn 38, UIC 43

The Quakers closed out the half in criminally unimpressive style, culminating in a bad miss by Jaaber. Penn committed also committed at least a half dozen fouls down the stretch, most of them unneccesary.

Meanwhile, UIC has been cleaning up the glass. The heros have been Othyus Jeffers, the 6-5 forward who has been far too fast for Penn, and Stefanov.

The Quakers are going to have to get back to what they have done best: get the ball inside to their scorers.

Fellow blogger Josh Wheeling's contribution to this post: He pointed out that Governor Ed Rendell is in attendance tonight. Here's hoping that Penn puts on a better show in the second half.

3:49 Penn 32, UIC 34

Scary moment for Penn. Diving after a loose ball, Zoller cracked his head on the Palestra floor and was extremely slow to get up. Andreas Schrieber comes in to replace him.

Just as scary for Penn is how easily the Flames have gotten open inside. Eb Noonoo slammed home an ally-oop and Jovan Stephanov gathers a tip-in. Danley went to the line for a pair but missed the second. Quakers still down by one.

6:59 Penn 30, UIC 28

It's a horse race as of now. McMahon has been active for Penn with some nifty passing, and Smith has avoided big mistakes bringing the ball up. But the threes have not been falling for Penn, especially for Mark Zoller, who just threw up a nasty airball.

11:08 Penn 21, UIC 20

UIC's Danijel Zoric scored in the post and Spencer Stewart hit a three in transition to give UIC a one-point lead, but Ibrahim Jaaber drew a foul on a three and hit two, giving Penn back the edge.

No 2-3 zone from Penn yet. It's been straight man-to-man, and UIC has begun to shake Penn with its ball movement. Darren Smith is also in the game now for the Quakers.

13:30 Penn 17, UIC 13

One word to describe UIC's Scott VanderMeer: big. The sophomore uses his 6-11 frame to block Danley, and after a couple of baskets UIC shows signs of life.

Brian Grandieri just entered the game, and Cameron Lewis is in for Danley.

15:17 Penn 15, UIC 8

Penn looks in control early on. Tommy McMahon hit a wide-open three in the opening seconds and Stephen Danley and Mark Zoller each have broken away from defenders for easy looks inside.

Kevin Egee is starting tonight in place of the injured Brian Grandieri, and he comes up with a loose ball at midcourt. Danley drains a three and Penn has an early lead.