Lycoming News

The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team faced a narrow defeat against Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon at Leede Arena. The Big Green secured a 73-70 win in the Ivy League opener for both teams.

In the final minute, Penn was trailing by five points but managed to close the gap to one point when Michael Zanoni successfully converted all three free throws after being fouled during a three-point attempt with 4.2 seconds remaining. However, Dartmouth's Ryan Cornish received the ball on an inbound pass and made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left. Ethan Roberts had an opportunity to tie the game with a shot from just inside midcourt, but it missed.

With this loss, Penn's record stands at 4-10 overall, while Dartmouth is now even at 7-7.

In terms of performance, Penn outrebounded Dartmouth 42-36. Senior Nick Spinoso led Penn with 16 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Sam Brown contributed 12 points and seven rebounds, nearly matching his season high. Roberts also scored 12 points, marking his eighth consecutive game reaching double digits in scoring, and collected six rebounds. Zanoni finished with 11 points, accumulating a total of 38 points over the last two games and 49 in the last three.

Spinoso, Brown, and freshman AJ Levine each recorded three assists for Penn. For Dartmouth, Brandon Mitchell-Day led all scorers with 25 points and added eight rebounds. Cornish achieved a double-double with 24 points and ten rebounds while also leading the game with five assists.

Penn will continue its Ivy League schedule next weekend by hosting Cornell on Saturday before traveling to Northern New England to face Harvard on Monday as part of the Ivy League's annual MLK Day games. Both games are set for a 2 p.m. start time.

For updates on Penn men's basketball, fans can follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram or visit their website at PennAthletics.com.