Philadelphia: There is a certain feel when you play your first conference home game & that is what we had on Monday Night as the Penn Quakers took on the Princeton Tigers from the Palestra on the campus of Penn. The Quakers come into the game with 9-9 & 2-2 in Conference play while the Tigers make the trip to Philly with 12-5 & 3-1 in conference play.
How it sounded in the Palestra as Penn got introduced to the home fans for the first time in conference play
#Penn Starters get Introduced pic.twitter.com/MFBxd1oxme
— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) January 17, 2023
How the game went:
In the first half, it was a very physical type of basketball as both teams made it difficult for each other & this had the feel of the old-school Penn Princeton games from the past. Penn would take a 26-25 lead into the half. Neither team would have a lead larger than 4 points in the first half.
In the 2nd half, it would pick up where things left off in the first half but the game would change as the Quakers had a stretch where most of their shots would not drop and then the tigers would make them pay
10:38 2nd | Princeton 43, Penn 38@Ryan_Langborg with the quick release pull-up three!#MakeShots 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/IAMVZt9YbM
— Princeton Men’s Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) January 17, 2023
The lead would get as high as 13 at 60-47 with 5:20 left, The Quakers would attempt cut into it but nothing was going their way. The Tigers would ruin the Quakers conference home opener with a 72-60 win.
This is the first time in 13 years that Penn would not make a 3 pointer the entire game, went 0-12 from 3 pt range.
Postgame:
Penn Coach Steve Donahue on what went wrong in the 2nd half:
I asked #Penn Coach Steve Donahue on what happened late in the second half as Princeton pulled away pic.twitter.com/TMNNAnETRo
— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) January 17, 2023
Box Score:
What is next:
Penn will attempt to get back to their winning ways as they visit Yale Saturday at 6 p.m
