The Quakers Move into a Tie for Third Place in the Men’s Standings
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 2/4/2023 –
The University of Pennsylvania started the weekend in fifth place, one place behind the final playoff berth. A weekend sweep over Columbia and Cornell improves the position for the Red and Blue who are now tied for third place with Brown and Cornell. The 92 – 86 win over the Big Red of Cornell is huge because Penn gained ground. But for the Quakers guard Jordan Dingle, it is another day at the office.
“One of the elder statesman I know exactly how this thing is and you can’t take anybody for granted,” said Dingle who scored a team-high 27 points, his 6th straight 20-point game. “The standings definitely have value to them, but they kind of don’t mean anything once you step in between the lines. Anybody can win on any given day.”
The Friday game against Columbia was a grind it out game. This game evolved into an up and down, fast paced game. In an Ivy Weekend, teams know each other, and have to adjust to different styles of play. A 180 for the Red and Blue. It is a tough and quick turnaround to adjust to. Penn handled it this weekend.
“It’s difficult, it’s challenging, but that’s why I appreciate what the guys did tonight within the ebb and flow of the game,” said Penn Coach Steve Donahue. “I thought we stayed even keel when there was a lot of reasons to get disappointed. And a lot of reasons to get real excited. I thought we kept competitive maturity throughout the game.”
A major contributor in the game was Lucas Monroe, who scored a season-high 12 points and tied his collegiate-best in rebounds with 16. He also equaled a career-best 5 assists. Overall effort is what he cares about.
“I think I have games where you might not see some of the numbers, but I think I make winning plays pretty consistently,” Monroe said. Which is what’s it’s all about, fitting in with the rest of the guys on the court.”
At the End
Penn held the lead, but not comfortably. The deficit moved between 3 and 5 points down the stretch. Three times the Big Red was within a possession. Monroe sank two free throws with 26.4 seconds to play to increase the lead to 91 – 86. Cornell turned the ball over on the next possession. Penn reciprocated, but a missed jumper by Isaiah Gray with 5 seconds left ended the game. At the end the Quakers did the little things better than the Big Red.
“In the Ivy League it’s all about grit,” Monroe said. “It comes down to who is going to get stops, who is going to dive for offensive rebounds. A lot of those little things that don’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet. We have guys who do that well, and that’s how we’ve been winning the last few games.”
What the Numbers Say
The 92 points scored by Penn was their second highest offensive output of the season. The highest was 93 against Wilkes. All of the starters for the Quakers scored in double-figures. The Red and Blue held a 48 – 37 rebound advantage.
Penn went to the foul line 32 times converting 19 while Cornell (15 – 7, 5 – 4) made 7 of 13 tries from the charity stripe.
The Quakers handed out a season-high 21 assists. Nick Spinoso handed out a team-high 6.
Big Red guard Greg Dolan scored a game-high 29 points making 12 of 18 from the field, 3 of 8 from beyond the arc. Chris Manon added 13 points as did Max Watson.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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