Brown holds off Penn at the Palestra

Ivy League rivals Penn and Brown have history. More than a century of it.

And ever since the first meeting of the Ancient Eight foes, dating all the way to 1901-02, the Quakers have been the more dominant team, winning 97 of 117 meetings with the Bears.

However, given their dreadful records this season, all that history was, well, ancient.

Last night at the Palestra, it came down to who wanted it more. With only pride at stake, that team was Brown, which held on to beat Penn, 80-73.

"We just don't have that sense of urgency," said Penn interm coach Jerome Allen, whose team has now dropped its last three after upsetting No. 22 Cornell. "We're trying to establish winning ways. When you're trying to build a program, it doesn't happen overnight. One victory doesn't turn things around in a sense that we've arrived."

The result served as a matter of revenge for the Bears (9-17, 3-6 Ivy), who were stunned by the Quakers (4-18, 3-5) by a single point on a controversial, buzzer-beating tip-in by Dan Monckton in their matchup in Providence on Jan. 30.

"Any win for us as we try to build our program is a good one," Brown coach Jesse Agel said. "There's no added significance [in this win]."

Agel should feel fortunate, however. Brown led by 16 points at the break, only to see it nearly evaporate in the final minute. Penn cut its deficit to four three times, but the Bears went to the foul line with confidence and made five of their final six attempts to seal the deal.

"We missed some free throws, then we made a few," Agel said. "We did what we had to do."

Senior forward Matt Mullery led Brown with 22 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while junior forward Peter Sullivan and junior guard Garrett Leffelman chipped in 18 apiece. The trio combined to go 15-for-20 from the line.

Meanwhile, the Quakers were led by their usual suspects. Sophomore point guard Zack Rosen posted game-highs of 29 points and 10 assists, while junior forward Jack Eggleston added 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

"It's gotta be disheartening [for Rosen]," Allen said. "But even in his effort, he made a number of mistakes as well. He's a perfectionist. He would have traded in those points and assists for a victory."

He also might have jettisoned his teammates as well after their performance in the opening half. Rosen was 4-for-7, while the rest team shot 5-for-23. That spelled doom for Penn, which led 20-17 with 10:25 left in the first half, only to make two field goals the rest of the way. The Bears (66.7 percent shooting in the first half) closed on a 24-5 spurt en route to a 41-25 advantage heading to the locker room.

One stat in particular told the rest of the story. The Quakers came into the contest 1-17 when trailing at intermission. They left 1-18.

"It seems like it's a recurring theme for us in all our Ivy games," Allen said. "We've spotted teams a margin from anywhere from nine to 17 points. We're always battling uphill."

Once again, it was too tall a mountain to climb. Penn (50 percent shooting in the second half) would make a run, but Brown always had an answer.

"Let's get out of here [with a win]," Agel told his team at the half. "You know a team is going to make a run at you, especially at home."

He was right. But Brown prevailed.