PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team opened play at the Paradise Jam with a 78-71 win over the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) on Friday night at the University of Virgin Islands Sports Center.
 
Devon Goodman had a career-high 27 points and also did yeoman's work on defense, making UNI's AJ Green work for every one of his team-high 21 points at the other end while coming up with a career-best five steals. Bryce Washington came off the bench on Friday after starting the previous two games and lit it up in the second half with four three-pointers for his 12 points. Antonio Woods also had 12 points, while AJ Brodeur added 11 for his tenth straight game scoring in double figures.
 
Up Next
Penn will face Kansas State in a semifinal on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 EST), as the Wildcats routed Eastern Kentucky in Friday's final first-round game, 95-68. The other semifinal pits Oregon State against Missouri. The winners of Sunday's semis meet in the championship game Monday at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 EST), while Sunday's losers play each other in the third-place game Monday at 6:30 p.m. (5:30 EST).
 
Notes
*Penn is 4-0 for the first time since the 1978-79 season, which also was the season that Penn advanced to the Final Four.
 
*Penn won despite grabbing just 19 rebounds, a team low in the Donahue era. UNI's rebound margin was 22 on the night (41-19). Amazingly, the last time Penn had fewer than 20 rebounds in a game, they also won. It was on February 25., 2012, when the Quakers had 17 boards in a 55-54 win at Harvard.
 
*On the flip side, Penn had 13 steals which was one shy of the team high in the Donahue era. The Quakers had 14 against Cornell on February 12, 2017.
 
*Penn shot 50.9 percent from the field (29-57); the Quakers have shot better than 50 percent in all four games so far this season.
 
*Junior Devon Goodman set career highs with 27 points and five steals—which matched a Penn player high in the Donahue ere—and also matched a career best with five three-point baskets.
 
*Goodman now has nine career double-figure scoring games in his Penn career, and the Quakers are 8-1 in those contests.
 
*Freshman Bryce Washington scored 12 points, all in the second half and all on three-point baskets; he was a perfect 4-of-4 beyond the arc on Friday night.
 
*Senior Antonio Woods also scored 12 points, his third double-figure scoring game this season and 33rd such game at Penn.
 
*Junior AJ Brodeur scored 11 points, his tenth straight game scoring in double figures dating back to last season.
                                                                                                                
How It Happened
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, as the teams combined for eight lead changes and six ties in the opening 20 minutes. The end of the half was defined by a pair of runs, as Penn went on a 6-0 streak to take a 32-27 lead and UNI (1-2) responded with 12 of the next 14 points to take a 39-34 advantage into the halftime break.
 
Penn started Bryce Washington in the second half and he immediately made his presence felt with an early three-pointer that brought the Quakers within 41-39 after UNI had opened the second-half scoring. Max Rothschild tied it up on the next possession, and then Washington pushed Penn ahead with another trey to make it 46-45. His third three gave Penn a six-point lead, at 53-47.
 
UNI again fought back, scoring nine of the next 11 points to take a 56-55 lead with 9:39 to play. Washington, again, hit at trey that gave the Quakers a 58-56 lead and was the start of an 8-2 run. From there, the Panthers were unable to get closer than three points (65-62) which Penn answered with a 10-3 stretch.