Ethan Roberts

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 66-47 loss at VCU

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Jon Rothstein typically describes trips to VCU’s Siegel Center as “life-changing.”

It may not have been a particularly life-changing evening for Penn on Monday, but it went a little bit better than expected. The Quakers competed defensively for long stretches in a 66-47 loss to the Atlantic 10 favorite Rams, which could give them a little bit of momentum moving forward.

Penn (3-7) came all the way back from a disastrous start to tie the game at 21 with 7:17 to go in the first half after a nice steal from freshman guard AJ Levine (more on him later) led directly to a transition three from junior wing Ethan Roberts. The Quakers had fallen into a 14-2 hole right off the bat and went nearly 6:30 without a basket after Nick Spinoso scored on Penn’s first possession.

The Rams (8-2) restored order with an extended 18-2 run that spanned the final four minutes of the first half and first three minutes of the second. In a disturbing replay of the game’s beginning, Penn went 6:37 of game action without a bucket.

Penn’s effort level was there on Monday, but so were a lot of the same issues that have plagued this team all season, leading to some depressingly familiar Quakeaways:

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 60-47 loss to Drexel

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PHILADELPHIA — The tradition at the Big 5 Classic tripleheader at the Wells Fargo Center is that fans throw streamers onto the court after their team’s first made basket.

When Penn scored first against Drexel on Saturday afternoon, about a half-dozen or so red and blue streamers limped out of a half-empty student section behind the basket. When the Dragons responded, navy blue and yellow paper coated the baseline.

It was that kind of afternoon for the Red and Blue, who took a 60-47 loss thanks to another extended offensive outage.

After getting early buckets from senior big Nick Spinoso and junior wing Ethan Roberts to open up a 34-30 lead a minute into the second half, Penn (3-6, 0-3 Big 5) scored just two points for the next nine minutes and 21 seconds of game time. Drexel (6-4, 1-2) used that stagnant period to go on a 14-2 run.

Unless and until Penn fixes its persistent scoring issues, nothing will change. That’s a shame, because …

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 68-53 loss to Elon

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There really isn’t too much to say in a micro sense about Penn’s 68-53 home loss to Elon on Sunday, which rounded out a 1-2 weekend at the Cathedral Classic Invitational.

The Quakers (3-5) shot 29.7% from the field and even worse from deep, hitting eight of 37 three-point attempts (21.6%). Penn never led, taking an immediate 8-0 punch to the mouth from the Phoenix (5-3) that forced coach Steve Donahue into a timeout less than 90 seconds into the contest.

It was all downhill from there.

Instead of focusing on Sunday’s contest, these Quakeaways will focus more on macro-level observations about Penn at large. Believe it or not, Saturday’s upcoming game against Drexel will be the one-third point of the Quakers’ season.

So, where does Penn stand?

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 77-64 win over Maine

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PHILADELPHIA — Brilliant performances from Penn’s two best upperclassmen helped the Quakers finally put an end to their four-game losing skid.

Junior wing Ethan Roberts dropped a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double, while senior big man Nick Spinoso seriously flirted with a triple double in a 77-64 win over Maine at the Cathedral Classic Invitational round robin on Saturday.

For the Quakers (3-4), the win over the Black Bears (4-4) was their first victory over a credible Division I opponent all season. Penn’s offense looked crisp for long stretches on Saturday, a welcome change from the early-season clunkiness that has been all too common.

Penn never trailed after the 14:14 mark of the first half but got pushed into a tie at multiple points in the second half. The Quakers drove in the dagger with a 10-0 run that pushed their lead from one point to 11 around the final media timeout of the game. An open Dylan Williams corner three off a swing pass from Roberts pushed Penn’s lead to 68-57 with 3:37 to go and effectively ended the contest.

For the first time in a few weeks, it’s all happy Quakeaways, such as how …

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

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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 …

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 65-63 loss at Lafayette

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Penn’s undefeated start to nonconference play wasn’t going to last forever. But it certainly didn’t need to end the way it did on Tuesday night.

The Quakers lost a very winnable game on the road against a shorthanded Lafayette squad, 65-63, thanks in large part to a dreadful performance at the free throw line.

Penn (2-1) shot 14-for-24 from the charity stripe, which comes out to a ghastly 58.3% shooting percentage.

The game’s deciding points came with 2.5 seconds to go when Leopards sophomore guard Mark Butler drove into the lane, drew contact from Penn reserve forward Johnnie Walter and calmly drained two free throws.

Penn tried for a home-run pass to set up either a tying or game-winning buzzer-beater, but Nick Spinoso’s inbounds pass to a waiting George Smith at midcourt was deflected away.

There’s much to think about ahead of a Friday home contest against a Saint Joseph’s team coming off a statement win against Villanova, starting with how …

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball eking out win over UMES

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After another frenetic final minute, Penn is 2-0.

The Quakers had to survive an 18-point barrage from Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in the game’s last 60 seconds but escaped with an 85-84 win in their opening game at the Palestra.

Penn moved ahead for good with 7:13 to go in the first half after senior forward Nick Spinoso laser-beamed an excellent pass to classmate George Smith, who hit a nice layup to give the Quakers a 20-19 lead they would not surrender.

Strong shooting performances in the second half from sophomore Sam Brown (22 points) and Ethan Roberts (23 points) helped Penn build a lead of as many as 16 points, but the Hawks got hot enough to make the end a nail-biter.

How stressful did it get? After Brown drained two free throws to give the Quakers a game-sealing 85-81 lead with 0.8 seconds left, UMES rolled the ball inbounds into the arms of junior guard Jose Cuello, who casually picked up the ball and drained a three from beyond half-court.

So, what have we learned about Penn after two victories against ostensibly inferior competition that were closer than expected?

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

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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 …

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Impressions from Ivy League men’s basketball Media Day

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The Ivy League hosted media day on Tuesday for the upcoming men’s basketball season.  

Here’s one key impression from interviews with players and coaches from each of the eight Ancient Eight programs:

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Ivy men’s basketball Media Day highlights

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With the non-conference schedule set to begin in less than three weeks, the Ivy League held its annual Media Day on Tuesday afternoon. The three-hour event, hosted by Lance Medow, featured coaches and players from each of the eight programs.

Fans can check out the recording on the conference’s YouTube channel.

Below are some highlights:

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