PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team fell behind by double digits early in Friday's game against Fairfield at The Palestra, but came back emphatically to gain a 74-68 victory over the Stags. It was Penn's third win in a row and improved the Quakers to 6-5 on the season.

*Penn has won three in a row for the first time since winning its first three games last season.

*Penn won for the first time this season when trailing at the half.

*Penn grabbed 45 rebounds, a season high.

*After starting the game 0-11 on three-point shots, Penn went 7-13 beyond the arc the rest of the way.

*Freshman AJ Brodeur was simply a beast in the second half, scoring 20 of his 27 after the break. He finished with a career-high 27 points and also snared 10 rebounds for his second collegiate double-double, and added three blocked shots.

*Senior Matt Howard had seven of Penn's first nine points, hit double figures before the game was 14 minutes old, and finished with 19 to go with nine boards.

*Sophomore Jackson Donahue knocked down three three-pointers and finished with nine points. He also had four rebounds and two assists.

*Juniors Matt MacDonald and Darnell Foreman led the way with four assists each. MacDonald, who entered the week leading the Ivy League in assist/turnover ratio, had just one turnover.

The three-point line was the difference early on. Fairfield turned a 9-9 game into a 23-11 advantage thanks to a trio of treys; meanwhile, Penn missed its first 11 shots beyond the arc, including five in one possession. Freshman Ryan Betley ended the skid, part of a 12-5 run that got the Red and Blue within 28-23 and forced Fairfield to call a timeout. By halftime, Penn was down just 34-33.

Fairfield led by as much as five early in the second half (44-39). At that point, Penn went on an 11-2 run and gained its first lead since 6-4 when Matt Howard hit a three-pointer to give the Quakers a 47-45 advantage. On Penn's next possession, Howard flushed home a backdoor pass from AJ Brodeur.

Penn never trailed again, although Fairfield never quite went away. The Stags got as close as four points in the final minute, but the Quakers made enough of their foul shots to keep their guests at bay.

Penn is off until Saturday, Jan. 7, when the Quakers open Ivy League play at preseason favorite Princeton at 7 p.m. That game is the second half of a doubleheader, as the Penn and Princeton women open play at 4 p.m.