Jan. 5, 2008

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Senior guard Brian Grandieri scored a game-high 22 points, leading three double-figure scorers for Pennsylvania in its 79-68 men's basketball win over visiting NJIT Saturday night in the famed Palestra.

Grandieri, who shot 9-for-13 from the field overall, scored 20 of his 22 points from the 8:01 mark of the first half on.

He was supported by junior center Cameron Lewis, who added 15 points, while pulling down a team-leading nine rebounds and making a game-high five steals. All three totals were career highs for Lewis, who helped foul out three of NJIT's four big men.

Freshman guard Tyler Bernardini added 14 points for the Quakers, who won the first all-time meeting between the schools.

NJIT, which produced its most balanced scoring effort of the season, had five different players with at least nine points.

Senior captain Kraig Peters and freshman guard Jheryl Wilson shared the NJIT scoring lead with 12 points apiece and Nesho Milosevic finished with 11 points. The Highlanders also got nine points apiece from freshmen Tyler Epps and Justin Garris. The nine points for Epps are a new career high.

Peters pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, leading NJIT to a 41-35 team advantage in that category.

Most of the statistical categories were close except for fouls, free throws attempted and points off of turnovers.

NJIT was whistled for 30 fouls to 22 for Penn and four Highlanders--Milosevic, Garris, Kyle Edwards and Dan Stonkus all fouled out for NJIT. By game's end, 6-foot-8 freshman Paulius Skema was the only remaining Highlander taller than 6-4.

The foul differential led to a huge disparity in free throws--40 attempted and 23 made by Penn against 16 attempts and 13 makes for NJIT.

And NJIT continued to struggle with points allowed off of turnovers. The turnovers were close--19 by NJIT to 16 for Penn--but the Quakers cashed in 23 points off of Highlander turnovers, while the Highlanders cashed in just four points from Penn's 16 turnovers.

Penn opened with a 9-2 lead in the first 5:33, but Epps hit the first of his three three-pointers at 14:27 and Peters scored 20 seconds later, pulling NJIT back to 9-7.

The Highlanders eventually took a 13-11 lead with 10:47 left on a four-point play--a three-point bucket plus a free throw--by Garris.

Penn responded with six straight points and eventually reclaimed a seven-point lead before settling for a 31-27 advantage at the break. Grandieri's 11 points led both teams at halftime, while Milosevic's nine points paced NJIT.

The Quakers scored the first bucket of the second half for a six-point lead, but NJIT went on a 7-0 run, starting with two free throws for Milosevic, followed by another Epps trey and Wilson's basket that gave the Highlanders their last lead, 34-33, with 17:58 left.

Penn reclaimed the lead for good 13 seconds later when Kevin Egee made two foul shots, but the Quakers were unable to get their lead above six until the 10:02 mark, but that lead was part of a decisive spurt.

Peters had pulled NJIT to within three points, 53-50, on a traditional three-point play with 10:17 left, but the Highlanders did not score again until Peters made a foul shot with 5:20 left, by which time Penn had built a 64-50 lead.

Down 14 at that point, Peters and Stonkus each scored three points in a 6-0 NJIT rally that reduced the deficit to 64-56 with 4:43 left.

NJIT scored 12 more points--10 by Wilson--but could not get closer than eight, as three of its four big men fouled out and Penn scored seven of its last 15 points from the foul line.

The game in one of college basketball's storied venues, the Palestra, brought to a close a stretch on the schedule that has seen NJIT play 10 of its last 12 games (since November 26 at Lehigh) away from home.

Now, the Highlanders will play six of the next seven at home. The six dates include four games on campus in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center and two games in the Prudential Center (January 15 at 8 pm vs. Cornell and January 26 at 1 pm against Texas-Pan American.

The stretch of home games will begin on Saturday, January 12 at 2 pm against Columbia in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.