Penn tops Columbia to end seven-game skid

Mercifully, it's over.

Winless since Feb. 6, the Penn Quakers, starting four freshman and junior Tony Hicks, halted their seven-game losing streak Friday with a 54-46 victory over Columbia at the Palestra.

Penn never trailed in the game, mostly because they limited the Lions to one of the worst shooting halves seen on a collegiate basketball court in some time. The Lions scored just nine points in the first half, at one point going more than 13 minutes without a field goal.

"I thought tonight that the guys competed at a high level," Allen, looking relieved, said following the team's first win in a month. "Anytime you hold a Division 1 basketball team to nine points in the first half defensively you're doing something right.

"And even though Columbia missed a few in the first half I think the guys set the tone with their defense and it helped us get into a flow," Quakers coach Jerome Allen said.

The Lions shot just 3 for 20 from the field in the first half. During that span they were 1 for 12 from behind the three-point line. It resulted in the lowest-scoring half by any Penn opponent since Allen took over as head coach during the 2009-10 season.

The victory was payback for an earlier flogging by the Lions. On Feb. 7, Columbia beat the Quakers, 83-56, connecting on 15 of 26 three-pointers.

Penn, which led by 23-9 at halftime and by as many as 16 points in the second half, was paced by Tony Hicks' 19 points. The junior was the only non-freshman to start the game. Freshman Sam Jones connected on 4 of 6 from three-point range and finished with 14 points for Penn (8-18, 3-9 Ivy League).

"We just came out with a completely different focus and effort," Hicks said of the start. "We were just locked in and they couldn't get much off. I think it's really good for our confidence. It's just a shame that it happened so late in the season."

Maodo Lo led Columbia (13-14, 5-8 Ivy) with a game-high 21 points.