Penn’s miracle run ends in Princeton

Penn’s last-ditch effort at a miraculous Ivy League championship is over.

The Quakers (19-11) ran out of gas in a 62-52 defeat last night to Princeton. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak and gave the Ancient Eight title to Harvard. If Penn had won, it would have forced a one-game playoff for the championship. Instead, Harvard earns its first NCAA tournament berth since 1946.

Senior point guard Zack Rosen paced Penn with 19 points, but the Quakers could not overcome a shaky start after trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half. Rosen also struggled with his shot at times, finishing just 8-for-24 from the field and Penn shot 37.5 percent as a team.

La Salle, St. Joe’s advance in the A-10

Saint Joseph’s and La Salle need to run the table and win the A-10 tournament for any chance at an NCAA tournament berth. Both schools kept that dream alive last night with first-round victories.

No. 5 Saint Joseph’s earned a 80-64 victory over Charlotte at Hagan Arena. Carl Jones led the way with 23 points. The Hawks (20-12) advance to face St. Bonaventure.

La Salle (21-11), the tourney’s seventh seed, scored a 80-72 win over No. 10 Richmond and get Saint Louis in Friday’s third quarterfinal.

Temple (24-6) is the No. 1 seed in the tournament — for the second time in the last four years — and received one of four first-round byes. Fran Dunphy was named A-10 Coach of the Year.