Penn vs. Fairfield: Quakers drop NIT consolation game 62-53

The Penn Quakers dropped their second game in as many days at the NIT Season Tip-Off on Tuesday, losing to the Fairfield Stags 62-53 in Charlottesville, Va.

Penn lost to Delaware on Monday, Nov. 12 84-69 and Fairfield lost to Virginia 54-45, setting up a consolation match between the two schools. Penn's Fran Dougherty scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but it was not enough for the Quakers. It was a career high in points for Dougherty, a junior, and his first double-double, but he got little help. As a team Penn shot just 35.8% from the field. Dougherty went 13-for-21 and the rest of the team combined to go 6-for-32.

The Quakers opened their season with an 80-75 victory over the UMBC Retrievers. Last season Penn went 20-13 and finished second in the Ivy League with a 11-3 conference record, but their top two players, Ivy League Player of the Year Zack Rosen and Rob Belcore both graduated.