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In back-to-back losses, Penn’s already dwindling postseason aspirations just got a lot dimmer

Saturday's defeat vs. Brown couples a Friday night loss to Yale left the Quakers needing a lot to lock up a spot in Ivy Madness.

Penn guard Clark Slajchert led Penn on back-to-back nights but it was for naught leaving the Quakers scrambling to qualify for the postseason.
Penn guard Clark Slajchert led Penn on back-to-back nights but it was for naught leaving the Quakers scrambling to qualify for the postseason.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
    by Kerith Gabriel
    Updated 
    Published 

A fair assessment of Penn’s chances of locking up a coveted fourth spot in Ivy Madness arrived this weekend.

A crucial back-to-back against Yale on Friday and Brown on Saturday — both inside the Palestra — were favorable for helping the Quakers inch higher in the standings.

Also helping is the return of senior forward Clark Slajchert, who’s coming off a knee injury that had him sidelined indefinitely earlier in the season. He played in the first back-to-back since his return.

Slajchert had a game-high 32 points on Saturday, but he and the Quakers found Brown taking a 71-64 win back to Providence, R.I.

It didn’t help that Slajchert was the only Quaker in double figures. Brown (7-17, 3-6 Ivy) was led by a 25-point effort from Kino Lilly Jr. and 11 points apiece from sophomore guard AJ Lesburt Jr. and senior guard Kimo Ferrari off the bench.

The Quakers (9-15, 1-8) also were on the losing end of a 76-62 final against Yale on Friday. Slajchert led that one, too, with 12 points.

Penn isn’t mathematically eliminated from Ivy Madness, but it would take a Herculean effort — and several ending in “W” in its final five games of the season.

It won’t be easy with Cornell (19-4, 8-1), Columbia (13-9, 4-5), and Princeton (18-3, 6-2) — teams that would make it to Madness if it began today — remaining on the schedule. Up first, Penn looks to regroup in a road test against last-place Dartmouth (5-17, 1-8) on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+).