Kirkwood Community College – Ivy Hoops Online

Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.

This time we are introduced to Lucas Lueth ’27, a rising senior on the Penn men’s basketball team from Ames, Iowa. While he aspires to take on a leadership role in healthcare down the road, he has his eyes on a pro basketball career, and a lot more, along the way. For this multi-talented Penn player, basketball is art, and art informs the way he sees the court as well as the world:

Penn started its three-day homestand for the Cathedral Classic off right Friday with a convincing 77-65 win over Merrimack — even if it didn’t play out the way Quakers fans might have expected.

The Quakers’ (4-2) offense looked stagnant and disjointed for long stretches, clearly disrupted by the Warriors’ (2-5) aggressive 2-3 zone. Instead of folding, though, the Quakers found another way to win.

Instead of relying on finesse and outside shooting, Penn won by exploiting a size mismatch and physically overpowering Merrimack. The Warriors are one of the shortest teams in Division I, with no rotation player standing taller than 6-foot-8.

The Quakers responded by scoring 50 points in the paint and a plud-14 rebound margin. They took control of the game with a 10-0 run late in the first which flipped a 30-25 deficit into a 35-30 edge; an inside finish from forward TJ Power off a slick feed from fellow big Augustus Gerhart gave Penn the lead for good.

What could Quakers fans take away from a successful afternoon?

Off the Bench: Lucas Lueth of Penn men’s basketball

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s Cathedral Classic win over Merrimack