Penn closed out the meaningful portion of its nonconference schedule on a joyful note Saturday, riding a 24-4 game-ending run to down Temple at the Palestra, 77-57.
For the Quakers (6-7, 1-3 Big 5), the win was their second over a team ranked in the KenPom top 100 this season. The Owls, who were looking to wrap up a perfect run through the Big 5, entered Saturday ranked 92nd by KenPom.
As usual, junior guard Jordan Dingle played the hero. Dingle outshone Temple’s Khalif Battle, a fellow 20+ point per game scorer, all afternoon. After Battle tied the game at 53 with an and-one drive, Dingle responded in turn with a tough finish through contact from Battle to give Penn a 55-53 lead at the under-eight media timeout.
Dingle converted his and-one free throw coming out of the break, and the Quakers never looked back.
Penn will now take a much-needed three-week break for finals before returning on Dec. 28 for a tune-up game ahead of Ivy League play against Wilkes, a Division III school.
Here are three key lessons from Saturday’s game Quakers fans can glean as the team enters a long layoff:
1. Andrew Laczkowski, this is your moment.
Where did this come from?
Laczkowski, a junior forward from Dallas, had not received any meaningful action all season heading into this week.
But after a seven-minute cameo against Villanova on Wednesday, Laczkowski provided a big lift to Penn down the stretch on Saturday.
In just 14 minutes of action, Laczkowski finished with a KenPom offensive rating of 227 points per 100 possessions while on the floor. He grabbed five offensive rebounds, including a critical board off a missed front end of a one-and-one from Nick Spinoso with two minutes to go in the game which effectively ended the contest.
Laczkowski also brought the Palestra crowd to its feet with a vicious one-handed poster dunk in transition that extended Penn’s lead to 14 with 3:27 to go.
If this is the type of effort Penn is going to get from Laczkowski — AKA “The Big Laczkowski” — on a nightly basis, Quakers fans are going to see a lot more of him in Ivy play.
2. Jordan Dingle is unstoppable.
If there is one thing Dingle has proven this season, it’s that his offensive game is diverse enough that he is going to get his, no matter what defenses try to take away.
Dingle struggled mightily from outside on Saturday, shooting 1-for-7 from deep.
It didn’t matter. He wound up with 30 points on 22 shots by adjusting and attacking Temple off the bounce repeatedly. Dingle’s drives often resulted in either a trip to the free throw line, a decent look at a floater, or both.
Dingle has now scored at least 20 points for Penn in the last 10 games he’s played. He’s scored at least 30 in two out of his last three contests, and his 120 combined points over four Big 5 games this season is a single-season record for any player in the city series.
If Las Vegas set odds for Ivy League Player of the Year, Dingle would be -200 or better.
The only concern, at this point, is overuse. Dingle has played at least 35 minutes in six straight games. Coach Steve Donahue obviously would like to rest Dingle more, but with Clark Slajchert still out for the time being, Penn’s offense is comatose whenever Dingle is off the floor.
3. The Quakers finally played complementary basketball at a critical moment.
Penn would be celebrating a share of the Big 5 title on Saturday if not for a pair of late collapses down the stretch last week against Saint Joseph’s and La Salle.
Those overtime losses were characterized by repeated late defensive breakdowns, fatigue and failure to convert open three-pointers.
Penn has gone through similar issues in wins, too, best typified by an overtime win over Lafayette just prior to Thanksgiving in which the Quakers’ offense stalled out late.
Saturday, Penn used defense to generate offense and seemed to feed off the crowd’s energy. The Quakers turned Temple over 15 times and held the Owls below one point per possession (0.95).
Battle finished with 14 points on 11 shots and committed three turnovers, to boot. One of those giveaways led directly to Laczkowski’s rim-rocker.
It was heartening to see the Quakers close out a good team with authority. It’s a moment they can draw on at similar junctures during Ivy play.
Congrats to the Quakers for earning what is probably the biggest non-conference win of the season for an Ivy team so far.