Penn upset by Columbia at the Palestra

Saturday night was a golden opportunity for Penn men’s basketball team to continue their early Ivy League success against the Columbia Lions at the Palestra. Instead of extending their two-game conference win streak, the Quakers lost, 73-69, in a contest they never led.

The Quakers (5-11, 2-1 Ivy) struggled offensively in the first half, making just three of their first 11 shots. The Lions (4-10, 1-1) jumped to an early 22-13 lead and relied on key contributions from their bench and dominant frontcourt play to preserve the advantage in the second half.

“A lot of guys in the locker room just haven’t been through a back-to-back Ivy League weekend,” Penn coach Steve Donahue said. “In particular, after you win and you are at home against a team that lost, you think it is going to be a game that is easy and you let slip what made you successful the prior night.”

Max Martz and George Smith led all Quakers with 14 points. Clark Slajchert added 11 points off of the bench.

Ike Nweke led Columbia with 21 points. Patrick Harding, in an interesting stat line, had only five points but pulled down 21 — yes, 21 — rebounds.

Penn, coming off of a hard-fought 79-65 victory against Cornell on Friday, missed early three-point shots and free throws.

“You can’t wait five or ten minutes in, [Columbia] gained confidence early,” Donahue said. “When that ball tips, you have to be ready to compete.”

Jordan Dingle, Penn’s leading scorer this season, was held scoreless in the first half. It wasn’t until Donahue put in reserves Slajchert and Jonah Charles that the Quakers began to make consistent shots.

The Quakers made it close at the end, forcing the Lions to make free throws to seal the victory. After a three-pointer by Martz cut it to two points with three seconds left, the Quakers were forced to foul Columbia guard Liam Murphy, who sealed the game with two free throws.

Nweke and Harding dominated in the paint, posting up Penn forwards Michael Moshkovitz and Martz on nearly every possession.

“Nweke is one of the better forwards, one of the more experienced players, in our league,” Donahue said. “You put Nweke [and Harding] together, they are a handful.”

Nweke showed off impressive touch with fadeaway jumpers and post moves, forcing Moshkovitz into early foul trouble.

Dingle’s scoring struggles prevented Penn from gaining any offensive momentum.

“Everyone is going to have an off night, but he missed some shots that he typically makes,” Donahue said. “We can’t just rely on our leading scorer to make shots.”

The sophomore guard scored nine points, all in the second half, and was 1 of 6 from three-point range.

“This [loss] is a hard one to swallow, but I’d rather have it now than later,” Donahue said. “You can’t celebrate a win the night before at home.”

Next for the Quakers is a Friday home game against Dartmouth before traveling to Princeton on Jan. 17.