Augie Gerhart

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 86-78 loss to Navy

by

The “bye week” didn’t do Penn much good.

Playing at home after a 10-day layoff, the Quakers saw their losing streak hit four games after an 86-78 loss to Navy in their opening game of the Cathedral Classic Invitational.

Penn (2-4) came all the way back from a 12-point deficit in the second half when Augie Gerhart finished off a nice high-low post pass from Sam Brown to give the Quakers a 51-50 lead with 9:04 to go.

It turned out to be Penn’s only lead of the night. The Midshipmen (3-4) responded with three straight three-pointers, capped off by a corner shot from Navy’s star, Austin Benigni.

Familiar problems for Penn reared their ugly heads again on Friday, starting with how …

Read more

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 86-69 loss to Saint Joseph’s

by

PHILADELPHIA — There are losses, and then there are capital L “Losses” that are so embarrassing and so complete that they force you to reevaluate your priors about the team you cheer for.

The 86-69 beating Penn took at the hands of Saint Joseph’s on Friday night at the Palestra falls into the latter category.

The Quakers (2-2, 0-1 Big 5) were never seriously competitive against the Hawks (3-1, 2-0) in their sole nonconference home game against a premier opponent. The Hawks used a 14-2 run early in the first half to break a 9-9 game wide-open, then tacked on a 15-2 run midway to expand its lead to a high of 32 points.

As of early Saturday, Penn has fallen nearly 75 spots in KenPom’s rankings in less than two weeks of play, plunging from 186 to 260.

Red flags abounded on Friday, starting with how …

Read more

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s comeback win over NJIT

by

NEWARK, N.J. — It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty.

Staring down the barrel of a dispiriting opening night loss to KenPom No. 334 NJIT, Penn used a combination of a well-schemed 2-3 zone and a relentless interior attack to slowly turn a 17-point second-half deficit into a 58-57 victory.

The winning moment on Monday night came when junior wing Ethan Roberts got the ball in an isolation backdown on the left block with six seconds to go. The Drake transfer bullied his way into the paint and drew a foul with just 1.6 ticks left on the clock. Roberts missed his first free throw but drained the second, the capper on a 15-point Penn debut.

NJIT got a decent turnaround look for forward Levi Lawal at the buzzer, but the sophomore airballed the jumper and the dozens of Quakers fans assembled in Newark could finally exhale.

There’s plenty for Penn to mull over after a near-certain defeat turned into a celebration, starting with how …

Read more

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 76-61 win over Monmouth

by

Penn men’s basketball responded to a difficult overtime loss with arguably its best top-to-bottom performance of the season.

The Quakers dominated a Monmouth team that had won its last three games, 76-61, to wrap up the Cathedral of College Basketball Classic round robin with a 2-1 record.

Penn (5-3) took control with an extended 19-4 run midway through the first half over roughly eight minutes of game time that flipped the score from 19-13 in favor of the Hawks to a 32-23 Quakers lead.

A deep Sam Brown three from the right wing off a pretty drive and kick by Tyler Perkins gave Penn a 23-21 lead it would not relinquish for the rest of the day.

It’s all good vibes for Penn on Sunday, led by how …

Read more

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 74-72 win versus Lafayette

by

Penn avoided a second consecutive disastrous loss thanks to some heroics from its upperclassmen Friday.

The Quakers opened the Cathedral of College Basketball Classic with a narrow 74-72 win over Lafayette after junior guard George Smith buried a go-ahead three-pointer from the right wing with 33 seconds to go on a broken play.

Smith and the rest of the Quakers (4-2) definitely owe senior guard Clark Slajchert a big thank you. Slajchert set Smith up for the game-winning shot after he recovered a deflection in the backcourt and found the open shooter following a mad scramble for the ball.

Slajchert finished with a team-high 18 points and tied a career high with five assists. The senior played 37 minutes, so load management for Slajchert will be something to monitor as the Red and Blue play three games in as many days this weekend.

It’s (mostly) happy Quakeaways for the day, led by how …

Read more