The Quakers are back at the Palestra for the first time in three weeks to kick off the first of four spring break games. First up is Dartmouth (6-18, 2-8 Ivy), which Penn (7-19, 4-5) has defeated in 30 of the last 32 games. Follow along as we bring you the action live!
I stopped by the Palestra today to check in with freshman Darien Nelson-Henry and his knee injury. During Friday's game against Yale, he injured his left knee in the first half and returned for limited action in the second. Saturday against Brown, Nelson-Henry was bandaged and ready to play, but didn't see any game action.
The verdict? Nelson-Henry called it a low-grade sprain of his left MCL. He's practicing this week and feels he'll be 100 percent for Harvard on Friday. Here's the full interview:
Do you have a diagnosis for your knee?
Yeah, it's just a sprained MCL. Low Grade 1, maybe Grade 2. Nothing serious.
And you're practicing this week?
Yeah, I am practicing this week. I'll be back for Harvard.
On Saturday, were you able to play and just taking a precaution?
It was mostly precautionary. I definitely was not going to be at 100 percent if I was to play, so the coaches just didn't want to chance it and have my injury exacerbated. So they just decided to sit me out and wait for this big weekend coming up.
So you're practicing [Monday], you're off tomorrow and you're all good?
Yeah, I'll be good to go.
Do you feel like you'll be 100 percent?
Yes, definitely. I'll definitely be 100 percent by Harvard.
THE GOOD - Darien Nelson-Henry
In Fran Dougherty's absence, the Quakers have needed a big man to step up in each contest, and tonight, Nelson-Henry took advantage of the opportunity. He scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, and he became the go-to player on offense as Penn rallied back late in the fourth quarter.
THE BAD - Offensive defense
The Quakers weren't able to stop the Leopards on defense, especially in the first half, when Penn allowed Lafayette to shoot 61 percent from the field, and over 40 percent from downtown. The Red and Blue's defense was so atrocious that the Leopards' field goal percentage was closer to their free throw percentage (69 percent) than it was from behind the arc. This would be the Ugly, if Lafayette hadn't allowed Penn to shoot 59 percent in its own right.
THE UGLY - Missed clutch free throws
There's an episode of Hey Arnold, a beloved Nickelodeon TV show, where Arnold joins a basketball team, and the coach rails his son Tucker constantly because he expects him to be the star. Tucker's biggest flaw was his free throw shooting, and whenever he would missed, the coach would yell, hysterical, "YOU DON'T MISS YOUR FREE THROWS WHEN THE GAME IS ON THE LINE."
Keeping that in mind, Nelson-Henry, who had a great night otherwise, went to the line with the game tied and just over two minutes remaining. Just one free throw would give Penn the lead for the first time since the first half. He steps up for the first -- it barely hits rim. His next is closer but still doesn't fall. And the whole time, I'm hearing coach Jack Wittenberg, fictional as he may be, screaming his head off.
After a long layoff for finals, the Quakers (2-7) take on Delaware (3-8) at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del. I'm here with now former sports editor Mike Wisniewski and hoops beat writer John Phillips. Follow along and join the conversation as Penn looks for its first win since Nov. 28.
Penn turned around its five-game losing streak by grabbing a 65-54 win over Binghamton. The Quakers are now 2-5 on the season and hope to take their momentum to State College when they face Penn State this Saturday.
THE GOOD: Dau Jok's career high eight points. Yes, Fran Dougherty had another big night, recording a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. But it was Dau who received the greater applause when the two came off the court in the second half. Jok had a career-high 8 points for the Quakers in 12 minutes. On a night where Penn shot 35% from the field, Jok shined shooting a perfect 3-for-3. I expect to see more of Dau's sweet stroke in upcoming games.
THE BAD: Outrebounded again? Penn was last in the Ivy League in rebounding margin coming into the game and they won't be moving up the rankings after last night. They
were outrebounded 49-39 and registered a pitiful eight offensive rebounds. Other than Fran Dougherty, who had 13 rebounds, no Quaker had more than five. Only one Quaker, freshman Darien Nelson-Henry, had multiple offensive rebounds. If Binghamton center Roland Brown didn't have early foul trouble, the Bearcats may have pulled this one out.
Brown, who fouled out in the second half, had 5 points and 7 rebounds in just 11 minutes of play.
THE UGLY: The Palestra scoreboard. With 1:03 left in the second half and Penn winning 62-50, the scoreboard malfunctioned at the Palestra. Binghamton's players and fans were quick to voice their complaint that their score was off. Binghamton's leading scorer Jordan Reed, a Philadelphia native, was particularly upset that his stat line only showed 15 points when he had earned 16. It took the scoreboard operators a few minutes to fix the problem. A rare complaint by visitors about playing in the Palestra!
I'm here again with hoops beat writer Allison Bart at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., where Penn takes on Lehigh in the consolation bracket of the NIT Tip-Off Tournament. The Quakers fell last night to Fordham, so let's see if they can find a much-needed victory tonight.
The Ivy League office today announced its All-Ivy teams, and five Penn players were named to the first team: DL Brandon Copeland, P Scott Lopano, OL Joe Bonadies, LB Dan Davis and DB Sebastian Jaskowski.
This is Copeland's third time on the first-team, something only 39 other players have done in the past (Brown DB AJ Cruz also earned his third first-team nod). He has a shot at being named one of the defensive finalists for Ivy Player of the Year, which will be announced next Tuesday.
None of Penn's first-team picks were unanimous selections. Also, Penn was outdone in first-team picks by Harvard, which had 10 first team All-Ivy nods and 19 total.
Eight others were named to the second team or honorable mention. Click the jump to see those: Continue reading
I'm here with Allison Bart at Lehigh as Penn (1-3) takes on Fordham (0-3) in the consolation bracket of the NIT TipOff Tournament. The Quakers are fresh off a two-point loss to Drexel on Saturday.
THE GOOD: The game-winning Drive. Down 20-17 with 2:26 remaining, the Quakers started their drive at their own 38. Just when the Red and Blue needed Billy Ragone to put things together, he found the accuracy that he had been missing for much of the day, completing 5 of 7 passes to lead Penn down the field to score the game-winning touchdown. Lyle Marsh caught 6 of his 7 passes out of the backfield on the drive, including a 41-yarder that took the Quakers over midfield, to the Columbia 18. Ultimately, it was the Ragone-Marsh connection that would end the drive. With the original play broken, and Ragone rolling to his left, Marsh slipped behind the defense to the back corner, where Ragone found him for the score.
THE BAD: The run defense. Penn didn’t have an answer to Columbia’s rushing attack. The Quakers allowed 207 yards on the ground on 37 attempts for an average of over 5.5 yards per carry. For the most part, the Quakers were getting to the runner but were unable to bring him down on that first contact. Columbia's lead rusher, Marcorus Garrett, rushed the ball 19 times for 128 yards, with 31 of them coming on…
THE UGLY: Garrett’s 2nd TD Run. Had the Quakers suddenly been playing two hand touch, this run still would’ve been a touchdown. Garrett took the ball, found a hole to the right side, and saw only green grass in front of him. No defender came within two yards of him until he was within five yards of the end zone. While captain Brandon Copeland said that fatigue had nothing to do with the defense’s performance, this was one play where the Quakers seemed to be caught catching their breath.
On the same day Penn basketball announced its captains (Miles Cartwright, Fran Dougherty and Dau Jok), FOX Sports's Josh Gershon is reporting that the men's basketball team picked up its first commit of the 2013 class in center Dave Winfield II. 
The 6-foot-9, 260-pound center from southern California is a student at Harvard-Westlake in North Hollywood. His father, Dave Winfield, is a hall-of-fame baseball outfielder who played in the MLB for 23 seasons. He went to the All-Stars 12 straight times from 1977-1988 as a San Diego Padre and New York Yankee.
Here's a quick 30-minute YouTube clip of Winfield at Harvard-Westlake (#35). Link if video embed doesn't work.
This one is 51 minutes if you have more time —
