Penn Drops 14th Straight Against Princeton, Trails All-Time Series

PRINCETON, N.J. — For the first time in the history of a 124-year rivalry, Penn Men’s Basketball trails their all-time series with the Princeton Tigers.

Penn (7-7, 0-1 Ivy League) lost their 14th straight game against the Tigers on Monday, Jan. 5, falling 78-76 at the Jadwin Gymnasium after allowing a 54-point onslaught in the second half. The loss gives Princeton a 127-126 advantage in the storied rivalry.

Tigers Pile On

After making just seven of 25 shots in the first half, Princeton didn’t miss for the first 11 minutes of the second half. The Tigers bookended the break with a perfect 17-for-17 shooting stretch that included five made three-pointers, tying the game 36-36 on a Jack Stanton layup. They even made all five of their foul shots.

Penn forward TJ Power sank a three to go back in front, but five straight points from CJ Happy gave the Tigers their first lead of the game. Quakers’ guard AJ Levine answered the call, putting Penn ahead on two separate occasions with a layup and a triple, but Princeton took control from there with a 17-2 run. Even when Penn maintained heavy pressure into the waning seconds of the shot clock, the Tigers still managed to convert with ease.

Penn embarked on a 15-0 run during the final two minutes, a Levine and-one closing the gap to 75-72 with 45.4 seconds to play. Penn forced a travel, setting up a TJ Power layup that pulled them within a point, but Princeton’s Dalen Davis landed a layup of his own.

Roberts closed the gap to 77-76 and Davis made just one of his ensuing free throws, giving the Quakers the ball back with 6.2 seconds to play. Roberts ran into trouble on the perimeter with time winding down, passing to Levine, whose three clanged off the rim at the buzzer.

Quakers Lead Early

Penn led for the entirety of the first half, with guards Michael Zanoni and Ethan Roberts contributing the Quakers’ first 19 points. Roberts, making his first appearance since exiting with an injury in the Big 5 Classic championship game, scored the first four, sinking a layup on Penn’s opening possession.

The Tigers went more than six minutes without making a shot from the field, allowing Penn to build up a 23-10 lead. Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson called a timeout after a Zunoni three in an attempt to slow the Quakers’ onslaught, but the 0-for-6 run continued. Penn made just one shot in the final six minutes, a Roberts three, but still managed to take a 32-24 lead into the half — one that melted away in a blink.

Up next, Penn will host Brown at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10 in their Ivy League home opener.