Penn beats Harvard for top spot in Ivy

PHILADELPHIA » AJ Brodeur had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Pennsylvania beat Harvard 74-71 on Saturday night in a battle between the top two Ivy League teams.

Penn (21-7, 11-1 Ivy League) concludes league play next week traveling to Yale and Brown. Harvard (15-12, 10-2) hosts Cornell and Columbia.

Ryan Betley made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points for the Quakers. Darnell Foreman, who grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in Friday’s victory over Dartmouth, finished with 14 points and five assists but without a rebound. Caleb Wood chipped in 10 points.

Seth Towns scored 22 points and Corey Johnson had 14 to lead Harvard.

Towns rattled in a long 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 50 seconds remaining to pull Harvard to 67-65. Wood answered a 3 in front of the Penn bench. Penn made 3 of 4 free throws, but Harvard stayed close with a 3-pointer from Towns and another from Johnson with 3.1 seconds left.

Betley then split a pair of free throws, and Towns’ desperation 3-pointer hit the top of the backboard to end it.

Penn scored 22 points off 14 Harvard turnovers. SAINT JOSEPH’S 72 RICHMOND 70» Nick Robinson scored 20 points with eight rebounds and Shavar Newkirk added 18 points including two free throws with 14 seconds left in Saint Joseph’s victory over Richmond.

A Robinson dunk gave the Hawks a 70-64 lead with 1:48 left but Khwan Fore made four free throws over the next minute, cutting the lead to two. The teams exchanged turnovers before Newkirk’s free throws. A put-back by De’Monte Buckingham got the Spiders within 72-70 and the Hawks lost the ball out of bounds but Nick Sherod’s long 3-pointer bounced off the back of the rim.

Taylor Funk had four 3-pointers for 12 points for the Hawks (13-15, 8-8 Atlantic 10) and James Demery, who missed a Wednesday loss to George Mason with a sprained ankle, also scored 12.

Sherod had four 3-pointers and scored 20 points with Grant Golden adding 16 for the Spiders (9-19, 7-9). LA SALLE 73, FORDHAM 70 » B.J. Johnson scored 23 points, surpassing 1,000 for his two-year career at La Salle, and Tony Washington had a double-double, leading La Salle over Fordham.

Washington had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Explorers (12-18, 6-10 Atlantic 10), who were coming off an overtime loss to No. 18 Rhode Island last Saturday. Amar Stukes added 16 points and Pookie Powell 14.

La Salle scored 11 straight points late in the first half and led 40-19 at the break.

The Rams used a 20-7 run, getting within 60-51 on a Will Tavares basket with 6:04 to play, but Powell quickly answered with a 3-pointer and the lead stayed in double figures.

Travares had 19 points for Fordham (9-19, 4-13), who have lost four straight. UNC WILMINGTON 83, DREXEL 82 » Jordon Talley hit a jumper with seconds to go to lift UNC Wilmington to a win over Drexel in a regular season closer for both teams.

The Seahawks (10-20, 7-11 Colonial Athletic Association) trailed 82-81 with eight seconds left when Talley hit the winning bucket. Drexel’s Kurk Lee missed a layup at the other end and Austin Williams failed to make the second-chance shot.

Tramaine Isabell scored 29 points with eight rebounds for the Dragons (12-19, 6-12), who set a new Division I comeback record Thursday night with a 34-point rally to beat Delaware 85-83.