Gamecenter: NJIT 68, Penn 79

1st 2nd Final
NJIT (0-17) 27 41 68
Penn (5-9) 31 48 79
The Palestra – Philadelphia, PA Boxscore
 
Postgame audio: NJIT | Penn
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Penn was having trouble shaking off winless NJIT, leading just 53-50 after a three-point play by the Highlanders’ Kraig Peters with just over 10 minutes to play. Cameron Lewis was fouled while hitting a layup, and thought he couldn’t hit the free throw, Tyler Bernardini grabbed the miss and was fouled, hitting both free throws. Two possessions later, Lewis scored again inside, nearly two minutes later, Lewis struck again inside. Brian Grandieri came up with a steal and Justin Reilly got one of two at the line, and after another Grandieri theft, Bernardini scored on the break to cap off an 11-0 Penn run that gave the Quakers a 64-50 advantage with 6:17 to play.
Key sign it was over Up 10, Penn got possession after a jump ball with just over two minutes left. Grandieri hit a jumper from the corner on the inbounds pass to push the lead to 12 and end any chances of a comeback.
Key performance Grandieri. Coming off a tough road trip in Florida, the senior guard scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He also had three assists, two steals and a block.
Key statistic Penn attempted a whopping 40 free throws, compared to 16 for NJIT. The Quakers would have won even more easily had they shot better than 57.5 percent from the stripe.
Notes

– Lewis was one rebound short of a double-double with his 15-point performance on 6-of-9 shooting and nine boards, to go with five steals and two blocks. Bernardini chipped in with 14 points and five assists

– Peters and Wilson led NJIT with 12 points, while Nesho Milosevic contributed 11.

– Harrison Gaines returned from injury to log eight assists against just one turnover in 24 minutes off the bench.

– The Quakers had an impressive 22 assists on their 26 field goals.

– The turnover differential wasn’t very wide with 19 for NJIT and 16 for Penn, but the Quakers had a dramatic 23-4 edge in points off turnovers.

– Penn will play next on Tuesday, January 15, when it gets back to Big 5 play by welcoming La Salle to The Palestra for a 7:00 pm ET tip.

Daniel McQuade

Daniel McQuade wrote 21 posts

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