PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team posted a dominant performance Sunday, led by freshman
Ryan Betley's career-high 22 points en route to a 82-63 victory over Cornell. With the win, the Quakers improved to 9-12 overall and 2-6 in Ivy League play, while the Big Red fell to 6-17 overall, 2-6 in conference. With six games left in the Ivy League season, Penn is now two games behind fourth-place Columbia in the loss column as positioning for the inaugural Ivy League Tournament begins to take shape.
Numbers of Note
*Sunday's win marked the 43rd time the Quakers have swept the home weekend with Columbia and Cornell, and the first time since 2015.
*Penn has now beaten Cornell in eight straight contests, and ten of the last 11.
*The 19-point win over Cornell is the largest margin of victory in Ivy League play since Feb. 9, 2013 when Penn defeated Brown, 71-48.
*Penn scored 82 points, its second-best scoring performance this season.
*The 42-14 score at the half set several new season highs, including most points scored, fewest allowed and largest halftime lead (28).
*Penn improved to 8-1 this season when leading at the half, and 14-1 in such games during the Donahue era.
*The Quaker defense caused 22 turnovers and came up with 14 steals, both tops in the Steve Donahue coaching era.
*Penn shot 55% (29-53) from the field Sunday, the second-highest mark this season.
*Senior Matt Howard recorded his seventh career double-double, fourth this season, with 11 points and 12 rebounds (which tied his career high).
*Penn swatted a season-high seven shots, including five from freshman AJ Brodeur which tied his career-high.
*Freshman Devon Goodman set season/career highs in points (13), rebounds (3) and steals (3).
*Penn's largest lead was 31, the second-highest mark of the season
How it Happened
Penn and Cornell got off to polar opposite starts on Sunday, as the Quakers raced out to an early nine-point lead while holding the Big Red scoreless for the first five-plus minutes due in large part to six turnovers. Following Cornell's first field goal of the game from Stone Gettings, the Quakers ripped off a 14-2 run en route to a 28-point halftime lead, while shooting 55.6% from the field. Freshmen AJ Brodeur and Ryan Betley both reached double figures in the first half, combining for 24 of the team's 42 points in the opening frame.
The Red and Blue continued their torrid pace in the second half behind the duo of Betley and fellow freshman Devon Goodman, who both set career highs in points on the day. Betley's 22 points tied for the game high, while Goodman racked up 13 of his own, with ten coming in the final 20 minutes. Betley also set a new career high in three-pointers with five. Matt Howard recorded his seventh career double-double, and his 12 boards tied a career best.
The Quakers never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 31 on the day as the freshman trio of Betley, Brodeur and Goodman combined for 50 of Penn's 82 points in the win. After this weekend's wins over Columbia and Cornell, the Quakers have now swept four of the last six home weekends with the Lions and Big Red.
What's Next
Penn hits the road for its next four games, starting next weekend when the Quakers play at Brown on Friday. Tip-off from the Pizzitola Sports Center is scheduled for 8 p.m., following the Penn-Brown women's game at 5:30 p.m. Then on Sunday, Penn is at Yale for a game that tips off at 1 p.m.
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