Lycoming News

The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team concluded their participation in the Cathedral Classic Invitational on Sunday with a 68-53 defeat against Elon at The Palestra. This game marked the final contest of the four-team event, leaving Penn with a record of 3-5 overall and 1-2 for the weekend. Elon improved to a 5-3 overall record following their 2-1 performance over the weekend.

Penn managed to keep their turnovers to just six, a season low. Junior Ethan Roberts led Penn's scoring for the third consecutive game, achieving 20 points and securing six rebounds. His efforts earned him a spot on the all-tournament team alongside Maine's Kellen Tynes and Quion Burns, Elon's TK Simpkins, and Navy's Austin Benigni.

Senior Nick Spinoso contributed eight points while leading his team in rebounds (7) and assists (5). Junior Dylan Williams also added eight points during Sunday's match.

Elon had strong performances from several players, including Matthew Van Komen who recorded ten points, fourteen rebounds, four assists, and four blocked shots. Sam Sherry topped Elon's scoresheet with sixteen points followed by Nick Dorn with fifteen and TK Simpkins who added twelve along with five assists.

Elon started strongly in Sunday's matchup by scoring eight quick points which prompted an early timeout from Penn. The Quakers fought back into contention reducing the deficit to one point at 12-11 after AJ Levine's steal and layup sequence. However, despite narrowing Elon's lead several times throughout the first half and into the second half—with Niklas Polonowski making it a close game at 47-43—Penn was unable to maintain momentum.

An extended scoring drought saw Penn go more than seven minutes without registering a field goal allowing Elon to capitalize through an extensive run pushing them ahead further until Michelangelo Oberti broke this spell late on yet not enough time remained for recovery as they finished outside single digits behind.

Looking forward: Penn will take some days off before facing Drexel next Saturday at Wells Fargo Center as part of Big Five Classic series scheduled for afternoon tip-off.

For continuous updates regarding Penn men's basketball activities stay connected via @PennMBB social media handles or visit official athletics site.