Playing its third game in a three-day span, Penn men’s basketball simply ran out of gas against one of the better teams it will face this season.
Penn shot a grisly 32% from the field in a 77-60 home loss to Hofstra that rounded out the fourth edition of the Cathedral Classic.
Penn (5-3) managed to hold a two-point halftime lead against the Pride (5-3) that disappeared within the first minute of the second frame. Hofstra drained some shots and generated a modicum of offensive flow, while the Red and Blue struggled to play with pace and generate open looks.
Any chance the Quakers had at a comeback died shortly after the under-eight media timeout. Sophomore forward Lucas Lueth missed a free throw that would have pulled Penn within nine of Hofstra. Though senior wing Ethan Roberts corralled the offensive rebound, the Quakers couldn’t get a shot off and committed a shot clock violation.
At the other end of the floor, Penn got an initial stop, but Hofstra’s German Plotnikov drained a killer three after an offensive rebound. What could have been a four-point possession wound up as a three-point swing in the opposite direction.
The Quakers will surely be watching Monday night’s contest between Temple and Villanova to find out their opponent in the Big 5 title game next Saturday. Until then, they’ll be thinking about how …