box score
audio - coach sydney johnson & zach finley
Five times in the second half of the 217th meeting between Princeton and Penn the Tigers had possession with a shot to take the lead.
Five times the Quakers held on.
The last of these chances came with just nine seconds on the clock and Princeton down 64-63, as an open three point shot by senior co-captain Noah Savage on the left wing was long off the mark.
Following offsetting technical fouls assessed to Zach Finley and Brian Grandieri after the rebound, Remy Cofield made two free throws to boost the Penn advantage to three. As Princeton looked to inbound and pull even for the first time since midway through the first half, Savage was whistled for an intentional technical foul as he elbowed Jack Eggleston beyond midcourt before the ball ever came into play. Savage, now disqualified, headed to the bench with his head down, aware he had cost his team a chance at overtime.
It was one of 52 whistles in a foul-plagued 70-65 struggle between two teams that haven't had much fortune this season.
Kevin Egee's 15 points led four Quakers in double figures. Also breaking out of single digits were Aron Cohen with 14 and the freshman duo of Eggleston and Remy Cofield who both tallied 11.
Zach Finley was one of four Tigers in double figures, scoring 15 points. Kevin Steuerer added 13 while Savage and Lincoln Gunn each contributed 12.
A late-arriving crowd reached the ice-covered Palestra with Princeton already in front 5-0. Savage had thrown a diagonal lob to Finley for a layup the first time Princeton saw the ball, with Harrison Gaines picking up one of his four fouls in just seven minutes of play on the basket. Next time down the court Gunn tossed an entry pass over a Quaker defender and into Finley's hands for a second basket.
The Tiger lead reached 14-7 on a hesitation move by Finley and Savage's pull-up three point shot from the top of the key.
Penn reacted with a 19-5 run. A skip pass by Brian Grandieri resulted in an open three point shot by Aron Cohen. A three point attempt by Cofield in the corner in front of the Princeton bench rattled home to cut Princeton's edge to one. By the time Cofield made both free throws after being hand-checked by Savage in the post the Quakers were up 26-19.
Kevin Steuerer's spin move in the post at the 9:16 mark was Princeton's last field goal until Steuerer scored again out of the post with less than a minute to go in the half. The Tigers were able to stay in the same frame as Penn by going 7-8 at the free throw line during this span. This second Steuerer layup made the score 35-30 Quakers as the two teams went back to their respective locker rooms.
Penn, the worst free throw shooing team in the Ivy League, was 15-15 at the line in the first half. Princeton was 9-14 from the stripe (64.3%).
Kyle Koncz, who had scored 54 points in his last three games, did not attempt a field goal in the opening stanza.
In the first twenty minutes Princeton shot 10-20 (50.0%), sizing up just four shots from beyond the arc - with Savage's jumper the only conversion. Penn was 8-19 from the field (42.1%), 4-8 from deep (50.0%).
When play resumed, Finley back-cut down the lane and laid in a pass from Gunn to take Penn's lead down to three. Grandieri missed at the other end and Princeton had its first chance to pull even. Kevin Steuerer was open in the near corner, but his three point shot was off-target. Savage was whistled for a foul on the rebound.
The next attempt to even the scoreboard came after a second consecutive missed Penn three point shot. Finley got the ball in the post but traveled when double-teamed.
Egee was wide open outside the arc and doubled the Quaker lead at 38-32.
Heading out of the under-12:00 media time out, Marcus Schroeder found Gunn on the perimeter for his first three pointer and the Tigers were again behind by just three. In the final ten minutes of regulation the Penn lead never extended beyond five points.
Schroeder drove with his left hand and was fouled by Egee, pumping his fist as the ball rolled home. The free throw made the score 53-51. Gunn was whistled for a hold on the inbounds pass and Egee made both ends of his one-and-one opportunity.
Koncz curled outside and rose up after taking a pass from Savage and Princeton had inched within one.
The Tigers had a great chance to get the ball back with a chance to go in front when a three point shot by Michael Kach came up well short of the rim. There was a hustling Egee, streaking under the Penn basket to lay the ball home as Princeton watched for a deflection off the rim that never came.
Steuerer drove with his left hand around Justin Reily in the post at the 4:52 mark and made the score 57-56 Penn.
A long rebound of a missed three from Cohen came to Gunn on the run, who raced down the court with one defender to beat, passing to Steuerer under the Princeton basket. Traffic caught up with Steuerer, who lost the ball and Princeton's second chance to take the lead in the process.
Egee drove into the lane and Schroeder was late sliding under looking for the charge. The docile, shivering crowd had its first genuine emotional outburst of the evening. One free throw pushed the Quakers back up by four.
Schroeder found Gunn with 3:48 remaining to cut that deficit in half.
Cohen traveled with the ball as he tried to drive baseline and Princeton regained possession. Savage created space to drive with a crossover dribble that froze Eggleston. Savage could not convert the drive, shaking with frustration under the backboard as the referee blew his whistle. Savage's first free throw was long but the second was just right. Princeton trailed 60-59.
Grandieri floated a one-handed runner up over the hands of an oncoming Princeton defender to increate the Penn lead to three.
As the ice storm raged outside, defensive stops were of scant supply on the Palestra floor.
Princeton went inside to Finley, who used his left over a double team off glass for two.
Eggleston was fouled by Koncz and both free throws were good.
Savage put back a Finley miss with a strong offensive rebound and Penn called time out with 1:02 on the clock.
A wide open Egee three was short of the mark and Savage rebounded. Princeton brought the ball over half court and called time. :28.1 showed on the clock and the Tigers could hold for a chance to win. Savage's missed jumper was the only bad part of a successful offensive set and a bizarre final nine seconds concluded a strange evening in west Philadelphia.
What did officials say to Coach Johnson about Savage's technical? Johnson did not reveal much beyond that he was told a "T" had been assessed. "It was enough that it was a game-deciding play, so I wasn't going to do a thesis on it." said Johnson. "It was a tough break for us."
Johnson was pleased with Princeton's final look at the basket, but did not like the events that followed. "Some nonsense broke out later on" Johnson said to the media. "It is unfortunate the way the game ended. I apologize on behalf of our players and our university."
"To go out that way, it is too bad."
Notes:
-Savage, Finley and Koncz all fouled out for Princeton.
-Princeton was 24-48 from the field (50.0%), 3-12 from behind the arc (25.0%) and 14-21 at the free throw line (66.7%). Penn shot 17-44 (38.6%), 5-19 for three (26.3%) and 31-36 at the stripe (86.1%).
-Penn leading scorer Tyler Bernardini did not play on Tuesday night, out with a concussion suffered last week in practice.
-Kyle Koncz required six stitches to his left cheek at halftime after a first half collision with the face of Penn's Andreas Schrieber.
-Delayed by the weather, the Princeton band did not arrive at the game until 2:42 remained in the first half.
-The victory was Penn's 24th consecutive Ivy League win at home.
-Princeton hosts Yale on Friday night at 7:30 pm ET.
