Men's Basketball Overcomes 14-Point Deficit to Take Down Penn, 78-76

Monday, January 5

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

5-11,1-0Ivy League

Penn

7-7,0-1Ivy League

Penn

Princeton

Men's Basketball Overcomes 14-Point Deficit to Take Down Penn, 78-76

January 05, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – Despite trailing by 14 points late in the first half, the Princeton University men's basketball team used a collective team effort to take down the University of Pennsylvania inside Jadwin Gymnasium Monday night in the Tigers' Ivy League opener, 78-76.

The Tigers have now defeated the Quakers in 14 consecutive games and won 22 out of the last 24 games, in addition to 30 out of the last 34. Princeton also overtakes Penn in the all-time series, 127-126, which was tied for the first time since 1905.

Princeton shot a season-high 53.8% (28-for-52) from the field and made 16 straight shots to open the second half.

Sophomore Jack Stanton set a new career-high in scoring for the second consecutive game, recording a game-high 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. In his first game since Nov. 20, junior Dalen Davis scored 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting in 21 minutes. Sophomore Malik Abdullahi added 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line, while junior Jacob Huggins led the Tigers and tied the game-high in rebounding with seven and recorded a game-high two blocks.

The Quakers opened the game by taking a 12-5 lead, but a Stanton three-pointer with 16:47 remaining made it a 12-8 contest. A 9-0 run by Penn extended the Quakers lead to 21-8 at 8:11 as Penn's hot shooting continued.

Princeton narrowed it down single figures after a Davis jumper followed by an Abdullahi layup made it 25-16 with 5:11 remaining in the half. The Tigers close the half out with three Stanton free throws followed by a junior Jackson Hicke layup and trailed Penn at halftime, 32-24.

It was a tale of two halves, as Princeton battled back to tie at, 36-36, after a layup by sophomore CJ Happy then a Stanton three-pointer with 17:24 on the clock. With 12:41 remaining, a layup by Hicke ignited a 12-0 run that propelled the Tigers to a 60-46 advantage with 9:49 left to play. Princeton maintained a sizable lead for much of the second half; a pair of Abdullahi free throws followed by a Huggins layup saw the Tigers lead 73-59 with 3:24 on the clock.

19:14 2nd | Penn 32, Princeton 29

A 10-0 run!@J_Stanton21 buries the pull-up three!

??: https://t.co/qBcc63sNgL #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/jA3Ql3ST1c
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) January 6, 2026

15:55 2nd | Princeton 41, Penn 39

The Tigers take the lead!@CJHappy13 steps into the three and now has nine points!

??: https://t.co/qBcc63sNgL #MakeShots ???? pic.twitter.com/v9d9P50Hfj
— Princeton Men's Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) January 6, 2026

However, Penn refused to quit and used a 13-0 run to make it a one-point game at 0:39, 75-74. Davis took control down the stretch, making a layup and a free throw that kept the Tigers in front, 78-76. A last second heave by the Quakers didn't connect and the Tigers held on for the victory.

Up Next
Princeton hosts Yale (12-2) at 2 p.m. inside Jadwin Gymnasium on Jan. 10.