WASHINGTON, D.C. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team started slowly, but got on a roll and it proved to be too much for host Howard as the Quakers defeated the Bison, 81-68, Monday night at Burr Gymnasium.
 
The win was Penn's sixth in the last eight games and moved the Quakers to 6-4 overall. Howard fell to 1-8 with the loss.
 
Notes
*Penn had two unanswered double-figure scoring runs. The Quakers had a 10-0 run to end the half (eventually a 12-0 run as the second half started) and a 16-0 run in the second period that turned a 41-37 game into a 20-point Penn advantage.
 
*Penn reached the 80-point mark for the fourth time in the last seven games.
 
*Penn knocked down 11 three-point baskets on Monday, the fourth time in the last seven games the Quakers have reached double figures in that category.
 
*Penn had 50 rebounds, the third time reaching that number this season. The Quakers' +14 rebound margin was a season high.
 
*Penn had 20 assists on its 27 baskets on Monday night; the Quakers' 74.1 percentage was its second best this season, behind only the PSU-Brandywine game (27 assists on 34 baskets, 79.4 percent).
 
*The catalyst to Monday night's win was senior Caleb Wood, who knocked down six three-pointers and finished with 26 points which is a career high. He had 13 in each half and helped the Red and Blue shake off some early offensive doldrums.
 
*Sophomore Ryan Betley picked up his second double-double of the season and third career with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
*Sophomore AJ Brodeur nearly got a double-double as well, with nine points to complement his season-best 10-rebound night.
 
*Freshman Jarrod Simmons also had nine points and added a season-high eight boards.
 
*Junior Jackson Donahue scored nine points, the third time in the last four games he has scored that many points in a game.
 
*For Howard, R.J. Cole finished with 24 points, C.J. Williams added 20, and Zion Cousins had a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds).
 
How It Happened
The game started off poorly for Penn, as the Quakers shot poorly and were turnover-prone. As a result, Howard jumped out and led by as much as 11 points with a little more than four minutes to play. At that point, Wood caught fire, draining a pair of treys around an Antonio Woods bucket to make it an 8-0 run. R.J. Cole got three back the old-fashioned way for the Bison, but Ryan Betley hit a three-pointer and that set the Red and Blue off on a 10-0 run to end the period. Wood, who had 13 in the first half, punctuated it with a steal and dunk to close out the scoring.
 
The run extended into the second half, as the Quakers continued to pour it on especially from beyond the arc. Wood alone knocked down six treys and proved to be the catalyst to what was a 43-12 blitz spanning the halves that pushed Penn's lead to 20, at 57-37.
 
Howard fought back. Led by R.J. Cole and C.J. Williams, the Bison got as close as nine points on four separate occasions in the game's final four minutes—the last time coming at 76-67—but Penn was able to keep them at bay and gain the victory.
 
Up Next
Penn plays its second game in three days on Wednesday night at Lafayette. The back end of a doubleheader at the Kirby Sports Center, the Quakers and Leopards are scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. (the Lafayette women open the DH with Princeton at 6 p.m.)
 
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