Penn done in by Princeton’s offensive explosion in Ivy opener

Ethan Roberts (23) made return to lineup for Penn, but Quakers fell two points short as Princeton’s historic avalanche of shots to begin second half allowed Tigers to overcome double-digit deficit. (Photo by Jackson Ford/The Daily Pennsylvanian)

By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)

PRINCETON, N.J. — Fran McCaffery has watched, played in, and coached in an exorbitant amount of basketball games.

He’s never seen anything like he saw Monday night. In fact, after the game was over, the Ivy League’s most heated hoops rivalry provided a result that neither McCaffery, nor anyone for that matter, had seen. 

McCaffery watched as Princeton came out of halftime and put on a shooting masterclass. The Tigers made their first 16 shots of the second half, scoring on 18 straight possessions if you include the final two of the first half. That offensive onslaught by Princeton was enough to walk away with a 78-76 win over its archrival in Penn, and make McCaffery wait another day to get his first Ivy League coaching win.

Penn went into the halftime break leading, 32-24. That lead turned into a 15-point deficit before Princeton missed a shot in the final 20 minutes, as Mitch Henderson’s Tigers went nearly 12 minutes into the second half without coming up with an empty offensive possession. Princeton struggled for much of the first half shooting the ball, but went on to shoot a scorching hot 21-of-27 from the field in the final 20 minutes, leaving McCaffery almost speechless when asked if he had ever seen a second half like that in his 40-plus years coaching in the college game.

“No. Nothing else to say,” he simply said. “The answer is no.”

Even with the otherworldly offensive performance Princeton put on in the second half, Penn stayed steady, and somehow found itself with the ball in its hands at the end of the game to have a chance to win. The Quakers pulled out their full-court press, and made enough baskets themselves to keep things close. Penn shot nearly 47 percent in the second half and got key baskets late from AJ Levine, who converted a three-point play with under a minute left, and TJ Power, who had a late layup to cut the lead to one. 

However, Levine missed a three for the win at the buzzer, and Penn fell just short of an improbable comeback. The sophomore point guard finished with 15 points, his third straight game scoring in double digits. He’s been in the proverbial doghouse with McCaffery at times this season, but has responded well as of late.

McCaffery was pleased with the resolve of his group. It’s easy for a team to totally unravel when its opponent shoots that well, with momentum and the crowd on its side. His Quakers never wavered.

“I was proud of the guys for that,” said McCaffery. “I thought we executed for the most part offensively. We did start getting some stops. The press was effective. Really proud of the guys that they were able to come back and have a shot to win at the end.”

Leading the charge for Penn offensively was Ethan Roberts, who played in his first game in a month after suffering an injury in the Big 5 championship game against Villanova. He paced the Quakers with 19 points, and looked like the great scorer he is. McCaffery is happy to have him back in the lineup as Ancient Eight play is now underway.

“That’s no question his return is going to help big time,” McCaffery said of Roberts. “He takes pressure off of TJ and Michael (Zanoni). He missed five weeks, he’s trying to remember the plays. When I was making calls, you could tell he was slow registering sometimes. We’ll get him back.”

Freshman Dalton Scantlebury stacked another good performance in what’s been an impressive first-year campaign for him so far. With Augie Gerhart in foul trouble most of the game, Scantlebury’s name was called early and often, and he played a season-high 30 minutes. He scored 12 points, grabbed seven boards, and made all six of his free throws. He showed up in a big spot, and continues to garner praise from his head coach.

“What I think was really important for Dalton was he was able to sustain effort,” McCaffery said. “He might tire because he played most of the game, but he gave us effort the whole game. That kid is special. I’m excited to coach him a long time.”

If you walk through the back door of The Palestra, off of 32nd and Walnut Streets, a scoreboard tallying the all-time series between Penn and Princeton greets you. 

It’s never read that Princeton leads the series in the battle of two Ivy League foes that faced off for the 253rd time on Monday inside Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium. In fact, Princeton had never led in the series that dates back to 1902-03, when Penn topped the Tigers, 24-14, nearly 123 years ago at a place called St. James Hall on the corner of 38th and Market Streets in University City. Thanks to a rivalry record 14th straight win by Princeton in the series, the Tigers trail no more, leading 127-126.

Monday’s thriller was just another heated game in a series with a long list of them. McCaffery went 5-3 against Princeton when he donned the Red and Blue himself, and still recalls how these games would typically go.

“Seems like it always came down to a one possession,” he mused. “Just like it did (Monday).”