Daily Cup of City 6 (3/12/14)

By Sean Kennedy

Yesterday’s Action

Princeton 70, Pennsylvania 65

For a while Tuesday night, it looked like the Quakers might pull off the upset victory, putting a happy ending on an otherwise difficult season. Darien Nelson-Henry had 12 points in the first half (18 on the game), as Penn led the Tigers by two in halftime. The Quakers held that advantage for a while after halftime, but their defense eventually failed them, as Princeton pulled away for an easy victory. T.J. Bray finished with a team-high 18 points for the Tigers, capturing the Ivy League scoring title in the process.

Tony Hicks didn’t see the floor until the second half after being suspended last game, playing just 3 minutes and recording zero points. In his final collegiate game, senior Fran Dougherty had a solid performance with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Unfortunately, fellow senior and team lead Miles Jackson-Cartwright didn’t go out as well, scoring 12 points on just 3-9 shooting and committing 5 turnovers. This senior class leaves Penn having never reached an NCAA tournament, and with their only postseason experience coming in the CBI tournament two years ago. They certainly hoped for better results coming into their final season, but nevertheless, the program has some big shoes to fill with their departure.

Box Score

Today’s Action

9:30 PM: Temple (9-21, 4-14 AAC) vs. UCF (12-17, 4-14 AAC) – ESPN2

[AAC Tournament – 1st round]

Temple has battled through their worst season in school history, but one good thing about the NCAA postseason is everyone gets at least one more chance for their one shining moment. Coming off back-to-back wins for the first time in 2014, including an overtime victory over their first-round opponent UCF, the Owls hope they can keep the momentum going down in Memphis. However, the Knighs were without Isaiah Sykes in that recent loss to Temple, who leads the team in points, rebounds, and assists. The teams’ first meeting was just as close, with the Owls falling by two points down in Orlando; Sykes had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists in that contest.

For Temple, Dalton Pepper has scored at least 20 in hist last three games and the senior will be firing away in hopes of prolonging his collegiate career for at least one more game. Still, scoring has not been the issue for the Owls as stopping the opposition has been the bugaboo for Temple all season long. If they can hold down Sykes and force others on UCF to beat them, the Owls could very well advance to take on 1-seed Cincinnati.