Penn stuffs Tigers

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — When rivals meet, the setting is always intense. And when the game is intense, a team that plays good defense will almost always be the winner.

Unfortunately for the men's basketball team (10-11 overall, 1-6 Ivy League), its stellar defense was outdone by an even better Penn defense, guiding the Quakers (15-8, 6-1) to a 48-35 win in a slugfest last night at The Palestra.

After the Tigers rallied to tie the game at 29 with 11 minutes and 24 seconds remaining, Penn sealed Princeton's fate with a long second-half run maintained by stifling pressure defense.

The Orange and Black shot a dreadful 31 percent from the floor, including 21 percent from beyond the arc, but was kept in the game by Penn's 35 percent field-goal and 13 percent three-point shooting. The Tigers were plagued by 17 turnovers, while also forcing the Quakers to bumble 11 times. Penn had a slight 36-31 rebounding edge.

"I thought our defense was good," head coach Joe Scott '87 said. "They made us miss; we made them miss."

Freshman guard Lincoln Gunn led the Tigers with eight points, followed by freshman guard Marcus Schroeder and junior forward Kyle Koncz, each with six. Koncz grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while senior forward Justin Conway dished out four assists.

While Scott gave credit to the Penn defense, he also conceded that his team missed many pointblank shots.

"We struggled to put it in the hoop, there's no doubt about it," Scott said. "We get good shots, we get layups. We get those opportunities, and we don't make them."

Penn was led by star forward Mark Zoller and versatile guard Ibby Jaaber. Zoller finished with 17 points on six-for-10 shooting, while Jaaber, though shooting poorly, notched six steals and three assists. Jaaber's quickness, athleticism and overall perimeter defense gave Princeton fits throughout the game.

The first half was characterized by back-and-forth play, with Penn's consistency paying off as the half wore on. Princeton cut the lead to two at 12-10 with 11 minutes left in the half on a Koncz three-pointer, but that was as close as the Tigers would get before halftime, as Penn countered with a 13-4 run.

Another late three by Koncz and two free throws by junior guard Kevin Steuerer provided the half's eight-point differential, 27-19.

Gunn scored seven of his eight points prior to the break, while Koncz contributed two treys. Princeton only shot 33 percent for the half, while Penn fared slightly better at 42 percent. Princeton also had nine turnovers to only three assists, while Penn had six assists to five turnovers.

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The Tigers had no answer for Zoller early on, as the Quakers' most prolific scorer tallied 11 points in the first stanza while making all four field-goal attempts.

Princeton began the second half with two statement-making offensive moves, the first from freshman center Zach Finley and the second from Schroeder. The Tigers hurt themselves, though, by accumulating six team fouls in the first three-and-a-half minutes after halftime.

Penn, meanwhile, struggled to find the bottom of the net early in the period, as Princeton climbed to within one after a three by Owings and a drive by Conway six minutes in.

The Tigers finally tied the game at 29 on a free throw by Gunn, but the Quakers immediately answered inside to regain the lead. Over the next seven-and-a-half minutes, that lead steadily grew, as Princeton fell victim to cold shooting and turnovers.

"I thought we competed hard, but we struggled to score after [tying the game at 29]," Scott said. "We missed a couple of wide-open threes, some inside, and we had a couple of key turnovers. I think in a game like this it's huge. You got to get the lead [after tying]. We had a foul shot and then two wide open threes [with the score tied]. If you make those shots, you put the pressure on Penn."

By the time Steuerer made a layup with four minutes remaining — Princeton's first points since Gunn's free throw — Penn had built a 10 point lead, 41-31, with two of its points from a thunderous fast-break dunk by Jaaber.

Steals by Jaaber and two emphatic blocks from center Steve Danley catalyzed the strong Quaker defense, which clamped down through the last minute of the game.

Despite the poor shooting, Scott praised the team's heart, especially Koncz, who has recently struggled with injuries.

"I'm happy with our effort," Scott said. "Give [Penn] credit for stepping up. We've got to get better at what we do. We've got to work on guys finishing plays, making shots ... [Koncz] played on one foot and got seven rebounds. He's got a lot of guts."

Princeton returns to action Friday night against Cornell in Jadwin Gym.