Dartmouth and Penn missed 79 shots from the field and at the free throw line during Saturday’s clash at the Palestra, but Penn’s 20 field goals on 52 attempts and nine free throws proved more than enough to win a slugfest with the Big Green, 54-46, to notch a weekend sweep after downing Harvard Friday.
Penn (10-7, 2-2 Ivy) powered its way to a 32-14 advantage 1:46 into the second half and hung on from there in a game in which points came at a premium no matter who you were.
AJ Brodeur managed just nine points on 4-for-16 shooting from the field, marking the first time in 40 Division I games that he failed to score in double figures. Chris Knight missed nearly as many shots, registering 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the field.
Devon Goodman was the contest’s most efficient scorer, notching a game-high 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including 12 points in the first stanza to give Penn an early cushion that it never wore out.
Penn’s defensive efficiency is third behind only Yale and Princeton in Ivy play according to KenPom, a welcome ranking for a team whose defense struggled at times in nonconference competition.
Dartmouth (7-12, 0-4), meanwhile, is left looking for answers after having scored just 44 points at Jadwin Gym last night.
It’s just four games, but Dartmouth’s offensive efficiency is easily worst in conference play in that span. Dartmouth has no shortage of players who have shown they can shoot the deep ball, but the team is shooting the second-lowest three-point percentage among Ivies this season, doesn’t get to the foul line often and doesn’t crash the offensive boards. Chris Knight has the eighth-highest usage rate in the country and has the highest percentage of shots taken in Ivy play, but this offense collectively needs a lot more oomph if Dartmouth is going to rally for a run at an Ivy League Tournament berth.
Penn joins Dartmouth in hitting the road next weekend, the former traveling to Columbia and Cornell, the latter to Brown and Yale.