Box score
NEWARK, NJ—Brennan Votel and Harrison Gaines scored 15 points apiece to lead the University of Pennsylvania past NJIT, 59-40, in men's college basketball Saturday afternoon in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Votel, a senior forward, scored 12 of his points in the first half and Gaines, a quick sophomore reserve guard, scored all 15 of his points in the second half, as the visiting Quakers won for the third time in their last four games.
Freshman Isaiah Wilkerson scored 15 points to lead NJIT. Wilkerson, who joined the Highlanders on December 20, has played a total of nine games and he has reached double-figure scoring in the last eight straight.
Junior captain Gary Garris (11 points) was the other double-figure scorer for NJIT, while Wilkerson and Justin Garris paced the Highlanders in rebounding, with five apiece.
Penn's sophomore wing guard Tyler Bernardini pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds, leading the Quakers to a 38-29 rebounding advantage. It was the second time in 12 games that the 4-8 Quakers have outrebounded their opponents. Bernardini added 10 points for his career double-double.
Penn scored first on a layup by Votel, but the Highlanders answered on a jump shot by Gary Garris and a three-pointer by Wilkerson, taking what would be their biggest lead, 5-2, 1:55 into the contest.
NJIT claimed its last lead, 7-6, on a Gary Garris layup at the 15:18 mark of the first half.
Penn then kept the Highlanders off the board for the next 8:46 and went ahead for good, 9-7, on a three-point basket by Bernardini with 12:31 left in the half.
The Highlanders, who have been prone to extended scoring droughts throughout the season, played strong defense for long stretches, as well. It took Penn 2:47 to get Bernardini's go-ahead basket and then the score stayed at 9-7 for another 4:50.
And even with the drought eventually lasting almost nine minutes, the Highlanders were able to get back to within two points of the lead, 16-14, after a defensive rebound by Dan Stonkus, who passed ahead to Gary Garris for a breakaway dunk with 4:46 left in the half.
However, Kevin Egee made a three-pointer for Penn 17 seconds after the Garris dunk and Votel, who made six of his eight first-half shots, got the lead back to 21-14 with 3:45 to play.
The teams traded scores the rest of the half and the Quakers, led by Votel's 12 points, held a 25-18 advantage at the break. Gary Garris had eight first-half points for NJIT.
The slow scoring pace of the first half continued for both teams, as NJIT did not get back on the board until Jheryl Wilson made a layup for the Highlanders 4:55 into the second half. Meanwhile, Penn managed just three points of its own, extending its lead to 28-18 before Wilson's layup.
Gary Garris followed with a three-pointer on the next possession for the Highlanders, pulling NJIT as close as it would get, 28-23, at 14:24.
Bernardini and Votel scored back-to-back buckets to push the Penn lead back to nine and the Quakers pulled away for good with an 11-0 run that stretched a 34-27 lead with 12:26 remaining to 45-27 at the 9:19 mark. Gaines keyed the 11-0 spurt, scoring nine points, including a pair of three-pointers in the quick 3:07 outburst.
Gaines' three-pointer with 11:12 left gave Penn a 39-27 advantage and the Quaker lead stayed at least that high for the rest of the game.
Having completed its slate of three foes from the Ivy League with the loss to Penn, NJIT will play 12 of its remaining 13 games against fellow Division I Independents, beginning with a 7 pm game Wednesday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center against Bryant.
