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Rosen, Penn pummel Princeton, 82-67

Clearly, Zack Rosen doesn't want to leave Penn without some Ivy League hardware.

Penn claimed its first win over Princeton in three years Monday night at the Palestra. (Charles Fox/Staff Photographer)
Penn claimed its first win over Princeton in three years Monday night at the Palestra. (Charles Fox/Staff Photographer)Read more

Clearly, Zack Rosen doesn't want to leave Penn without some Ivy League hardware.

Rosen was practically unstoppable on Monday night, scoring 28 points to go with five assists to lead Penn to an 82-67 victory over rival Princeton at the Palestra.

The victory moved Penn to 11-9 overall and 3-0 in the Ivy League, and kept alive the Quakers' title chances in a league where even one loss would be a huge blow to the Quakers' hopes with powerhouse Harvard already 4-0.

Penn, which is second only to Princeton's 26 Ivy titles with 25, hasn't finished atop the Ivy League since 2007, two seasons before Rosen arrived on campus.

After games at Yale and Brown this weekend, the Quakers will host the Crimson on Feb. 10. To keep pace with Harvard, Penn likely will have to remain perfect until then and Princeton (10-9, 1-2) certainly didn't make it easy.

The Quakers upped their eight-point halftime lead to 11, 52-41, with 15 minutes remaining on Rosen's traditional three-point play that gave him 21 points for the game and moved him past coach Jerome Allen into eighth all-time on the Quakers' scoring list.

The Tigers, as they did for most of the game, wouldn't go away and kept it close for most of the half but never could get within five points down the stretch. Rosen put the contest away with another three-point play that put the Quakers ahead 70-59 with 2:20 left.

Tyler Bernardini had 14 points and Miles Cartwright added 10 for the Quakers, who have won five of six but were playing for the first time since defeating St. Joseph's nine days ago.

Ian Hummer led Princeton with 21 points.

Rosen had 15 points in the first half when Penn took a 40-32 lead in 20 minutes of offensive excellence for both teams.

The Quakers, who led by as many as 16 points, shot 14 for 22 (63.6 percent) from the field and 7 for 10 from three-point range.

Princeton, meantime, was 13 for 19 (68.4 percent) from the field.

T.J. Bray and Brendan Connolly had 11 points apiece to pace the Tigers. Connolly entered averaging 3.9 points per game.

While they shot well from outside, both teams struggled from the free throw line before halftime. Princeton went 4 for 11, while the Quakers were 5 for 10.

It was the 225th meeting between the two schools, who have combined for 51 Ivy League titles and 47 NCAA appearances. Penn upped its advantage in the 109-year rivalry to 123-102.