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Princeton University
Pennsylvania
Onyekwe's Double-Double Leads Penn Past Men's Hoops 65-55
February 11, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2003
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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Pennsylvania men's basketball team made 20 made 20 free throws in the second half, and Ugonna Onyekwe recorded a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, as the Quakers handed Princeton its first Ivy League loss with a 65-55 win Tuesday night in front of 8,722 at The Palestra. An 11-0 run by the Quakers turned a tie game into a big lead late in the Princeton loss, its first in seven games.
Spencer Gloger, who didn't score in the first half, ended as the Tigers' leading scorer with 12 points. Junior Ed Persia added 11, while junior Konrad Wysocki gave the Tigers a big boost in the game with 10 points off the bench. Princeton had its offensive opportunities throughout the game, but ineffective shooting doomed it. The Tigers shot 18 for 53 (34.0%) and 9 for 25 from beyond the arc (36.0%). The Tigers didn't help themselves at the free throw line, hitting 10 of 18, including six of 12 in the second half. A number of the misses came on the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity. "We scrapped, fought and got back in it," Princeton head coach John Thompson said afterwards. "We needed a couple better offensive possessions at the end. For the most part, we got what we were looking for, but the shots didn't go down."
While Onyekwe was clearly the star for the Quakers, he wasn't alone in causing Princeton's first league loss. Jeff Schiffner buried four three-pointers and scored 18 points, while Andrew Toole added 11. Penn outrebounded Princeton 42-28, led by Onyekwe's 12 boards.
The raucous Penn crowd couldn't have asked for a better start, as Ugonna Onyekwe slammed home Penn's first points with an uncontested dunk five seconds into the game. He added a jumper from the right elbow to move the lead to 4-0, but Princeton made sure the home crowd wouldn't get too involved at such an early stage. Following a pair of free throws by Judson Wallce, Ed Persia drained a three-pointer to open a 5-4 lead. Following a Penn miss, Princeton struggled to find a shot on its next trip. Kyle Wente picked up the ball with three seconds remaining on the shot clock and banked home a one-handed leaning three-pointer.
Penn would score the next seven points, but Persia buried another three-pointer to even the score at 11-11 with 14 minutes remaining. The junior entered the game shooting 64.3% from beyond the arc in Ivy League contests. Tim Begley was matching Persia deep shot for deep shot, and the Penn sophomore's second three-pointer gave Penn a 14-12 lead one minute later. Two more three-pointers by Penn would bring the 20-12, but Konrad Wysocki cut into the Quakers' momentum with a putback for an eventual three-point play.
Princeton's inability to make shots late in the first half allowed Penn to continue building on its lead. A three-pointer by Toole and a tip-in by Onyekwe of a Schiffner pass gave Penn a 27-17 lead, its biggest of the half. Wysocki, a target of the Penn faithful after an airball on a three-point attempt, quieted the crowd with a strong move under the basket to cut it to 27-19. Princeton defended on the final play of the half to keep it at that score into halftime.
Following a scoreless first half, Spencer Gloger finally got on the scoreboard with a short putback jumper to open the second half. That play got the junior going, as he went on to score seven of Princeton's next nine points, including a three-pointer at the top of the circle to cut the deficit to 33-28. Penn had trouble controlling the ball on its next two possessions, and Princeton converted on both turnovers. Wente hit an uncontested layup to cut it to 33-30, and Wysocki was fouled on a putback on the ensuing possession. He missed the free throw and Ray Robins followed with an offensive foul, but the Tigers did the job of getting back into the game.
Onyekwe and Gloger traded free throws, and following a Begley miss, Wente gave Princeton its first lead in a long time with a three-pointer from the right wing. Penn would make sure it was short-lived, and Princeton's inability to hit at the free-throw line helped Penn build lead back to nine points; the run was highlighted by a three-pointer by Schiffner and a Onyekwe dunk that sent the Palestra faithful into hysteria. His score gave Penn a 49-40 lead with five minutes remaining. Schiffner built it an 11-point advantage with two free throws. Gloger got one back with a free throw, but a miss on the back end and an over-the-back foul by Wysocki put the Quakers right back to the line. Onyekwe missed both, but Princeton failed to grab the rebound, and Onyekwe slammed the door on Penn's fifth Ivy League win with another dunk. Robins and Gloger hit three-pointers late, but Penn made its free throws down the stretch to maintain the victory.
Princeton returns home this weekend to take on the Brown Bears and Yale Bulldogs. Brown, the only other undefeated team in the Ivy League, comes in to Jadwin Gym with a 6-0 league record. The Bears will look for its first victory ever at Princeton; they have lost 52 straight road games to the Tigers, the longest such losing streak for any team in Division I.