ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team was tied late with the University of New Mexico, 61-61, but scored 14 of the game's last 18 points to take a 75-65 victory over the host Lobos Saturday at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.
 
With the win, Penn improved to 10-2 on the season and is on its best 12-game start since 1993-94. UNM fell to 5-6 with the loss.
 
Notes
*Penn is now 4-0 in true road games this season and has won five such games in a row dating back to last season.
 
*Penn is 10-0 this season when three or more players score in double figures in the game; there were three on Saturday in AJ Brodeur (20), Michael Wang (19) and Devon Goodman (13).
 
*Penn also is 10-0 when scoring 70 or more points this season, and 10-0 when shooting a better field-goal percentage than its opponent.
 
*For just the second time this season, Penn won a game in which it didn't shoot 50 percent or better from the field.
 
*Penn improved to 8-0 this season and 44-6 under head coach Steve Donahue when leading at halftime.
 
*Penn improved to 6-0 this season and 20-0 over the last two seasons when making more foul shots than its opponent; the Quakers had 11 on Saturday, while New Mexico made 10.
 
*Brodeur's 20 points marked his second time reaching that number this season and the tenth time in his Penn career. Brodeur now needs 16 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
 
*Brodeur has reached double figures in the scoring column in each of the last six games (15.3 ppg in that span).
 
*Wang now has 74 points over the last four games (18.5 ppg), and hit season/career highs in rebounds (9) and steals (3).
 
*Goodman hit double digits for the fourth straight game and the tenth time this season, and his five rebounds were tied for a season high.
 
*Senior Antonio Woods went scoreless for the first time this season but had six assists which was a season high.
 
*Senior Jackson Donahue scored seven straight points in the first half, hitting treys on consecutive possessions and finishing an and-1 after the second; all 12 of his made field goals this season have come from beyond the arc.
 
How It Happened
Penn got off to a fantastic start. After trading baskets to start the game, the Quakers scored ten straight points to go up 12-2, and then answered New Mexico's second bucket with seven straight points from Jackson Donahue. The senior hit three-point shots on consecutive possessions and made an and-1 free throw after he was fouled making the second of those treys. At that point, the score was 19-4 and there was a notable restlessness in the crowd.
 
There was a sarcastic cheer when Anthony Mathis hit two free throws to make it 19-6—the Lobos had been 0-6 at the line prior to that—but that turned out to be the start of a run by the hosts. An eight-point run made it 19-12, and then another seven-point run had UNM within a bucket at 21-19. At this point the Lobos were playing inspired ball, and when Vance Jackson hit a three-pointer to put the hosts in front, 27-26, the cheers from the crowd of 10,874 were anything but sarcastic.
 
From there, Penn got everything it could ask for in terms of the experience. To say the game got chaotic would be understating it. With players hitting foul trouble, and the crowd fully engaged, the Quakers had every opportunity to lose their poise but they didn't.
 
One sequence in particular stood out. Penn was up 35-33 in the final two minutes of the half when New Mexico's Karim Ezzeddine was called for an offensive foul (one that did not sit well with the faithful). Devon Goodman brought the ball across midcourt, when he attempted to get around Mathis who stepped in. This time, a block was called. The crowd was livid, but not nearly as hot as UNM head coach Paul Weir who literally left his bench and stormed across the court to argue with the official who had made the call. Weir was whistled for a technical, but it was probably a Christmas miracle that he wasn't ejected as his staff and players pulled him away from the ref and back to the bench.
 
Needless to say, the place was in full throat as the teams left for the locker rooms with Penn up, 42-38.
 
The Red and Blue held that lead through the first eight minutes of the second half, and expanded their lead to 52-44 when Jarrod Simmons rebounded a missed shot and found Jake Silpe for a layup.
 
UNM charged back. The Lobos got an old-fashioned three-point play from Carlton Bragg and then long-distance treys from Keith McGee and Drue Drinnon, a 9-0 run that pushed them back in front, 53-52. With the Pit crowd rocking, head coach Steve Donahue called timeout.
 
Penn came out and got a cool-as-you-like jumper from Michael Wang, then a layup from AJ Brodeur to go back in front, 56-53. UNM went back in front, 57-56, but Bryce Washington hit a three-pointer to make it 59-57. The Lobos tied it at 59-59, then the teams traded baskets to get to 61-61.
 
Both teams missed possessions, and then it looked like Penn might miss out again when Wang's three-point shot was off the mark. However, two New Mexico players bobbled the rebound between each other and it went out of bounds to the Quakers. Given new life, the Red and Blue worked it around to Washington who hit another three-pointer to make it 64-61.
 
UNM missed a shot at the other end, and then Washington again came up big. After Goodman missed in the lane, the rebound was knocked around and poked out to the right side. Washington got there just ahead of a Lobos player, and coolly drained a shot in the lane to make it 66-61.
 
UNM again had an empty possession, and Penn's lead opened up to seven when Brodeur showed good patience in the lane and Silpe went backdoor for an easy layup. The Lobos finally answered with a bucket, but Wang hit a pair of foul shots and then Brodeur scored on the block in between another empty New Mexico possession. That made the score 72-63 with two minutes to play, and from there it was a free-throw parade.
 
Up Next
Penn will be back in action next Saturday, Dec. 29, when the Quakers are in Ohio to face the University of Toledo. Tipoff for that game will be 2 p.m.