Wagner downs Quakers in overtime

The Penn men's basketball team entered its matchup with Wagner having not won a game in nearly two weeks and having gone winless against the Seahawks in seasons past. Those trends continued Saturday at the Palestra, as the Quakers fell to Wagner, 75-69, in overtime.

Senior Fran Dougherty led Penn (2-6) with 17 points. Guard Kenneth Ortiz scored 18 for the Seahawks (5-5).

The Quakers took a 14-6 lead, but both teams struggled early, combining to hit just 14 of 59 shots in the first half.

"I never like shooting here at the Palestra. There's something about this gym." said Wagner coach Bashir Mason, who went winless at Penn as a player at Drexel.

With the game tied at 62 with 27 seconds to play, Quakers freshman guard Tony Bagtas turned the ball over after Ortiz denied his path to the basket. Wagner recovered the loose ball and called a timeout, but Ortiz's running jumper bounced off the rim as time expired.

In overtime, it was all Wagner. The Seahawks went on a 7-0 run to take a 69-62 lead. Bagtas drained a three-pointer with under 30 seconds left, but it was too little to late, as the Quakers lost their third straight.

"It's tough. It's almost two weeks that we'll have this taste in our mouth," coach Jerome Allen said, referring to the Quakers' break before their next game. "When you look at it, it could be a good thing. Just in terms of the amount of effort that's given in practice."