The No. 14 Wisconsin men’s basketball team started the regular season with a 64-53 victory over the Penn Quakers Friday night at Penn.
The Quakers took an early lead, jumping to a 9-2 advantage, but the Badgers rallied back with a 22-6 run. Wisconsin held the lead for the rest of the half, but Penn rallied back to tie the game 48 minutes into the second half.
With 3:22 left in the game, Wisconsin led 50-48. Senior Freddie Owens and junior Devin Harris carried the Badgers the rest of the way, scoring all of the points in a 14-5 run to seal the victory. Harris sparked the surge with a 3-point play. On the next possession, Owens made a key steal and fast-break lay-up to make it 55-48 with 2:42 remaining.
Harris led the Badgers with 16 points, while Owens and Zach Morley scored 12 each.
Penn senior Jeff Schiffner, who led the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage last season, led all scorers with 20 points.
Wisconsin now leads the all-time series with Penn 5-0. Tonight’s game was the two teams’ first meeting since Dec. 27, 1967, at the Quaker City Classic in Philadelphia.
The victory puts Wisconsin’s record at 79-27 in season openers in its 106-year history and brings head coach Bo Ryan’s season-opener record to 2-1.
The Badgers’ home season begins Tuesday night when they host Eastern Illinois.
-compiled from staff reports
