The Pennsylvania Quakers travelled to Ithaca, New York, tonight to take on Ivy League rival Cornell Big Red, pulling out a dramatic 71-69 victory very late in the game.
Cornell would jump out to a quick lead and take control of the game early thanks to the poor play of the young Quakers, with turnovers being the main culprit. The once-dominant Quakers have fallen on hard times in recent years, and many alumni are amazed that head coach Jerome Allen still has a job. To say his teams have struggled is an understatement. This season, though, the team has shown some promise. Four freshmen get significant minutes, and at least one, Darnell Foreman, is a consistent starter. The star and most important player, however, is junior guard Tony Hicks.
Cornell held a 35-27 halftime lead with Hicks scoring just five points. Penn picked up the tempo in the second half and, aside from committing 17 turnovers to just seven for Cornell, Penn had a decent shooting night and outrebounded the Big Red as well. Penn shot 48.9% from the floor (22 for 45) while holding Cornell to 39.6% shooting (21 for 53). The Quakers won the rebounding battle 32-23.
Hicks recovered from his quiet first half by scoring 20 points in the second, including the game winner with four seconds left. Hicks had the ball at the top of the key as the clock ran down before dribbling to his left then cutting back into the lane for the winning basket. Hicks led all scorers with 25 points while freshmen Antonio Woods added twelve and Sam Jones eleven. Shonn Miller led Cornell with 20 points while Robert Hatter chipped in 16. Penn (7-11, 2-2) travels to New York City to face Columbia Saturday night while Cornell (10-11, 2-3) hosts Princeton.