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COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Penn Wins Cathedral Classic Despite Dominant Performance From Nelson

By Rich Flanagan. Photos: Kathy Leister, 11/28/22, 9:00PM EST

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Photos/Videos: Kathy Leister & Rich Flanagan

By: Rich Flanagan

PHILADELPHIA – Steve Donahue wasn’t sure if his team had figured things out through the early part of the season. His University of Pennsylvania Quakers dropped their first three games of the year before winning two out of three in advance of the inaugural Cathedral Classic. Losses against the likes of Iona and Missouri were followed by victories over Drexel and Lafayette.

Still, Donahue knew there was a lot to be discovered about this year’s group and, even with an experienced roster, what, if anything, had they learned over the course of these first couple matchups.

“Confidence is a difficult thing to figure out in terms of what comes first,” Donahue said. “Do you do well and become confident, or are you confident and you do well? I think with this group there had to be some results to make them like, ‘Hey, we’re good,” and for most of the guys, they’re older and have been here awhile.”

The Quakers answered more than a few of the questions about their prospects for this season by downing Delaware, 86-73 to claim the Cathedral Classic on the floor of the fabled Palestra.


Penn junior Clark Slajchert #0 scored 26 points for the Quakers in win vs. Delaware - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister


Jordan Dingle added 22 points for Penn vs. the Blue Hens - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister

Clark Slajchert went for 26 points and Jordan Dingle continued his torrid start to the season with 22 as Penn swept the classic winning its three games by an average of 15 points. The junior guards nailed four three-pointers apiece and were aided by an 18-point, nine-assist night from 6-foot-9 sophomore big man Nick Sponoso.

With Penn (5-4) on a four-game winning streak, Donahue is pleased with the trajectory of his side, specifically with how it beat two teams which made the NCAA Tournament last season in the Blue Hens and Colgate.

“I thought the whole classic was good for us, especially playing these types of teams,” Donahue said. “That was an up-and-down battle and I thought they might just have too much for us. We wore them down a bit and defended them better. I was happy for our guys when they put a good team away.”

It was coming home of sorts for two of Delaware’s starters in Jameer Nelson Jr. and Christian Ray, former teammates at The Haverford School. Nelson and Ray were two of the standouts, along with Jameel Brown (Penn State) and Asim Richards (football at North Carolina), that led the Fords to an undefeated 28-0 record and the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Tournament title in 2019.

Ray scored 1,661 career points with the Fords then played three seasons with La Salle before arriving at Delaware. Nelson is the son of the former St. Joseph’s star and 2004 Naismith College Player of the Year who began his career at George Washington University and put on a performance eerily reminiscent of those his father had within the Cathedral of College Basketball. Jameer Nelson scored 30 points at the Palestra to beat Villanova in Feb. 2003 and his son matched that on Sunday.

Nelson scored the first bucket of the game for the Blue Hens (3-3) then proceeded to score 20 of his game-high 30 points in the opening half. Ray, who posted six points and 15 rebounds, found Nelson in transition for a three-pointer then a possession later Ray found his teammate cutting down the lane for a layup to give Delaware a 21-19 at the 9:44 mark. All three of Ray’s assists went to Nelson, who dunked the last one home to tie the game at 26-26. Nelson, who tied his career high in the contest, closed out the half with seven straight points including one of his five three-pointers, but Dingle matched him with five points in a row and the Quakers took a 42-39 advantage into the locker room.

Donahue can recall Nelson playing in some of the very first games of his high school career with the Fords and he has been so impressed by his maturation.

“I’ve seen him play since he was a freshman at The Haverford School and the growth of his game is remarkable,” Donahue said. “The best thing about him is that he’s such a competitor and he just keeps going.”

“If you dare him to shoot, he makes it. If you over help, he finds the open man. His elite athleticism is what separates him, and I was so impressed with that.”

Penn vs. Delaware Game Highlights by Kathy Leister & Rich Flanagan:

Slajchert hit a trey in transition to begin the second half that saw him score 14 points. Dingle was fouled beyond the arc and sank all three free throws in the process to give the Quakers a 49-42 lead with 17:46 left to play. The Blue Hens kept battling and Nelson gave his side a brief, second-half lead at 57-54 with a three-pointer from the wing. Sponoso sprung together six straight points, including a nifty finish inside, and Penn was up 64-59. Later, Slajchert scored seven consecutive points during a 14-9 run and the Quakers’ lead had grown to 13 with 4:06 remaining.

One night after erupting for a career-high 33 points against Colgate, Slajchert followed it up with a terrific performance and culminated a three-game stretch that saw him hit 10 shots from deep.

“They were playing drop coverage to start, so coming off a handoff guys were giving it to me in rhythm and their defense was dropping down, giving me good looks,” Slajchert said. “The defense is always giving us something and we need to trust that we’re going to get good looks.”

Penn’s performance this weekend did more than simply improve its outlook for the season, but the focus now shifts to potentially securing a Big 5 title. On Friday, Penn, like the rest of the Big 5 programs, had a losing record, marking the first time in Big 5 history that each program had a losing record on the same day, per Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Villanova, Temple, La Salle, and St. Joe’s have all struggled out of the gate and the Quakers are hoping the momentum gained from winning the Cathedral Classic could lead to their second Big 5 title in five seasons (there was no champion in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).