  Drexel press conference Penn press conference |
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Drexel Dragons 60 |
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 Penn Quakers2-0 68 |
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| Key sign it was over | Down six in the final minute, Penn’s Brian Grandieri swiped the ball after Drexel’s Frank Elegar dribbled it off his own foot. The Dragons fouled Eric Osmundson, who hit a pair of free throws to put Penn up 65-57 with just 30 seconds to play. |
| Key sequence | With Penn up nine and Drexel inching back into the game with a little over five minutes left, Ibrahim Jaaber hit a driving layup and then stole the ball on the next possession, leading to a Steve Danley layup with 5:22 left. The shot, which put the Quakers up, 60-47, would be Penn’s final field goal of the contest. |
| Key performer | Penn sophomore wing Brian Grandieri. In just his second collegiate game, Grandieri had 12 points, 15 rebounds and 5 steals, while committing no turnovers. His diving hustle play on a loose ball in the first half led to a Friedrich Ebede layup. Grandieri also pulled down three critical defensive rebounds in the final three minutes with his team holding on to a slim lead. |
| Key statistic | 22-18. That was Penn’s rebounding edge in a first half that saw the Quakers build a 40-24 lead. Drexel, which had outrebounded Duke by 10 and was outrebounded by UCLA by just one, also had two fewer offensive boards than an undersized Penn squad. In the second half, which Drexel won 36-28, the Dragons outrebounded their hosts 27-15, including a 13-3 edge on the offensive glass. |
| Key coaching move | Having played a game the previous afternoon in New York, Drexel looked tired in the first half, and Penn took advantage. With the Dragons slow to get out on three-point shooters, Fran Dunphy had his team bombing it from the outside. The Quakers launched 14 threes in the first half, connecting on six. |
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– Eric Osmundson came out of the gates quickly, scoring 10 points in the first 4:58, including three three-pointers, one of which was part of a four-point play. – After attempting 14 three-pointers in the first half, Penn only took two shots from the arc after halftime, missing both. The Quakers finished the game 6 of 16 (37.5%) from the arc. – Ibrahim Jaaber followed up on his stellar season debut with another strong effort. Jaaber finished with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and two steals in 39 minutes. – During the final minutes, Penn repeatedly squandered chances to expand its lead. Osmundson missed a pair of free throws at the 2:14 mark with Penn up five. After the Quakers went 1-for-2 from the line on the next three possessions, they made five of their final six free throw attempts. – The Quakers and Dragons both play on the Palestra floor again Tuesday night. Drexel plays St. Joseph’s at 6:00 pm, and Penn takes on Colorado at 8:30. |
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Penn coach Fran Dunphy Brian Grandieri Eric Osmundson |
