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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Penn (15-7, 7-1 Ivy) |
33 |
24 |
57 |
| Columbia (9-13, 2-7 Ivy) |
28 |
31 |
59 |
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
Ibby Jaaber found Steve Danley for a layup that gave the Quakers a 57-54 lead with 4:42 left in the contest. These would be the last points Penn would score. Despite turnovers on its next two possessions, the lead was still three when Eric Osmundson missed a layup with just under three minutes left. Brian Grandieri fouled John Baumann at the other end, and the Columbia forward hit both free throws to make it a one-point game. The two teams traded misses on the next four possessions, but Columbia grabbed its second miss in that span, and Zoller fouled Ben Nwachukwu. The former Penn recruiting prospect hit one of two at the line to tie the game at 57 inside the final minute. Zoller was called for a charge at the other end — his fifth foul — and Columbia had the ball with the shot clock off and a chance to win. Mack Montgomery missed a jumper, but Nwachukwu got the tip to fall to give the Lions a 59-57 lead with one second left. |
| Key sign it was over |
After Nwachukwu’s go-ahead tip-in, Fran Dunphy called timeout to draw up a play to take his team the length of the court for a tying bucket in just one second. But the baseball pass to Danley was broken up by Baumann and the Lions celebrated possibly the biggest upset of the season in Division I. |
| Key performance |
Justin Armstrong. The sophomore came off the Columbia bench to score a career-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting in just 28 minutes. Armstrong gave the Lions their first lead of the second half with his only three-pointer of the evening at the 6:59 mark. |
| Key statistic |
Columbia’s 40.0-percent offensive rebounding and 85.2-percent defensive rebounding. The Lions pounded the Quakers on the glass, leading to a 16-4 edge in second-chance points. This was part of a dominant evening inside for Columbia, who outscored Penn 32-14 in the paint and goaded the Quakers into settling for 24 three-pointers. |
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| Notes |
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Jaaber had a stellar game in a losing cause. He was the game’s high scorer with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 3 of 6 from three-point range. The junior played all 40 minutes, adding three rebounds, four assists, a block, and four steals and committing just one turnover. |
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The other Penn guards struggled mightily with their shooting, going a combined 4 of 18 (22.2 percent) from the field. |
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The Quakers appeared to be the on verge of running away with the game when they used a 23-4 run to turn a six-point deficit into a 13-point lead late in the first half. But the Lions scored the final eight points of the half to close withing 33-28 at intermission. Penn amassed a 10-point lead early in the second half thanks to a 7-0 run, but Columbia answered with another 8-0 run to make it a two-point game. |
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Zoller had a quiet night for Penn, finishing with just nine points and five rebounds in 28 minutes. |
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The Lions attempted a season-low eight three-pointers and tied their low mark of the season by connecting on just two of those attempts. |
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For the second-straight game, Dunphy played just seven players, with Grandieri and Friedrich Ebede again getting the only minutes off the bench. |
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After scorching the nets in the first half with 12-of-21 (57.1-percent) shooting and 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from three-point range, the Quakers went cold in the second half. Penn shot just 8 of 24 (33.3 percent) overall and hit just 1 of 9 from outside the arc (11.1 percent). |
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Dalen Cuff started, but played just eight minutes for the Lions. |
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Columbia point guard Brett Loscalzo did not attempt a shot in 27 minutes of action, but turned over the ball just once on the night. |
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