Quakers roll past men's hoops to undefeated Ivy season

PHILADELPHIA — For a brief time during the second half last night, it seemed the men's basketball team was on its way to pulling off another 'Palestra Miracle.'

But on Senior Night at the Palestra, Penn had a different ending in mind. When carried by the play of senior guard Michael Jordan and freshman Ugonna Onyekwe, the Quakers ran away with the game late in the second half, winning 73-52.

After his second three-pointer of the game brought the Tigers within 10 points midway through the second half, freshman guard Spencer Gloger had another open look at a three from the top of the key. The ball hit the front of the rim, and the Quakers grabbed the rebound and never looked back.

"We got some shots we wanted to get," head coach Bill Carmody said. "We got the ball down low, but we couldn't hit the shots."

Poor shooting doomed the Tigers, especially in the first half. Princeton was 4 for 20 in the period, and the Quakers held a 26-13 lead at the break.

"It's easy to make shots when you're down," Carmody said, "but you have to make shots in the beginning of the game when it's close, and we couldn't."

After a first half dominated by defense, the first 10 minutes of the second half featured the kind of wide-open shootout neither team expected. Princeton looked like a different team in the early stages of the second stanza, going 9 of 18 from the floor.

Inspired by the play of junior Nate Walton, the Tigers came charging back. After Gloger broke the scoring drought with a three from the top of the key, Walton put back a rebound and converted the three-point play.

Walton's 11 rebounds and toughness in the paint helped make up for the absence of senior Mason Rocca, who did not suit up for the game. Walton's 14 points, all scored in the second half, nearly led the Tigers back.

"I was sick of waiting for somebody else to do something," Walton said, "so I just tried to do the best I could."

But when the Tigers started to run, the Quakers outran them. After Gloger's three made the score 53-43, Jordan drove the lane and found an open Owens for a reverse jam. From then on the Quakers went on a 20-9 run to close out the game.

With the win, the Quakers completed an undefeated Ivy League season, their fourth perfect conference season in the last eight years. Penn, which earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with its title, now waits for Sunday's NCAA tournament selection to determine its postseason future.

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The future of Princeton's season remains up in the air. The Tigers are hoping for a bid to the NIT. The invitations will be sent out Sunday after the NCAA's bids are announced.

In the meantime, Princeton will try to put the loss behind it.

"We just have to get back to practice," Walton said. "Really the only way to do it in basketball is to get back in the gym the next day and try to get better."