ITHACA, N.Y. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team fell to Cornell on Friday night, 80-71, as the Big Red scored the game's last 10 points over the final 2:13. It was the Quakers' first loss in Ithaca since the 2010-11 season and snapped a seven-game win streak at Newman Arena.
 
Michael Wang hit a floater with 2:28 left to put Penn up, 71-70, but Matt Morgan (game-high 25 points) quickly got the ball down the floor to give Cornell a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Penn's next three possessions resulted in a pair of missed foul shots, an offensive foul, and a missed three-pointer. Cornell, meanwhile, extended its lead to 77-71 with less than a minute to play. From there, the Quakers missed one…two…three…four shots before the Big Red finally grabbed the board and forced Penn to foul.
 
Notes
*This was the largest blown halftime lead by Penn in the Steve Donahue coaching era.
 
*For the third straight game and the ninth time this season, Penn hit double figures in three-point field goals with 12.
 
*Junior AJ Brodeur finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds, his sixth double-double this season and his 15th at Penn.
 
*Brodeur's 16 rebounds were a career high and matched a Penn player high in the Steve Donahue coaching era; Darien Nelson-Henry had 16 against Cornell on February 13, 2016.
 
*Freshman Michael Wang scored all of his 16 points in a span of 8:32 during the second half and tied his season/career high with four assists.
 
*Freshman Bryce Washington scored 15 points and knocked down four three-point baskets, giving him 38 points and 10 treys in Penn's last two games.
 
*Junior Devon Goodman scored 12 points, his 13th double-figure game this season and 19th of his career.
 
*Junior Kuba Mijakowski had a career-high seven rebounds in nine minutes.
 
How It Happened
Penn, which has increasingly relied on its long-distance shooting in recent games, started with Antonio Woods and Bryce Washington dialing long-distance to open its scoring. AJ Brodeur added a nifty spin and finish to give the Quakers an early 8-7 lead at the first media timeout. From there, however, Penn missed its next five tries from deep before Brodeur hit one from straightaway.
 
Penn fell behind 13-11, but Michael Wang found Jackson Donahue in the corner for a three and then Jarrod Simmons ripped down an offensive board and kicked it for another Washington trey and six consecutive Quaker points, giving the Red and Blue a 17-13 advantage. That edge grew to six, at 20-14, after Washington's third three of the first half. At that point, 18 of the Quakers' points were off three-point baskets compared to just a single bucket from inside the arc.
 
With a 20-15 lead, Brodeur doubled the Red and Blue's two-point buckets, driving from the left and banking one in. Then Wang zipped a one-handed pass to a backdoor-cutting Washington for a hoop and the harm. The freshman made the free throw to secure the old-fashioned three-point play and propel Penn out to a double-digit lead at 25-15.
 
Cornell used four straight points to cut that deficit, but Wang found Jake Silpe with a quick outlet pass to push the pace and then the senior guard hit Devon Goodman for a catch-and-shoot three from the wing. On the next possession, Goodman took his man off the bounce and converted the layup to push it back to double digits, before heading into intermission up 37-30.
 
All offensive momentum from the first 20 minutes stalled during the break as Penn missed its first nine field-goal attempts in the second period. Cornell took advantage, using an 11-1 run to race out to its first lead of the night at 41-38 lead. Kuba Mijakowski halted the slump by hitting a three to end the 4:40 drought, but it did little to change the complexion of the second half. The Big Red ran out to a 49-41 advantage, outscoring Penn 24-6 in a run that bridged the halves.
 
Goodman made a free throw and then Brodeur banked in a layup before Wang scored to give the Quakers some life, closing the gap to 51-46 with 10:31 to play.
 
At the 8:43 mark, Washington rose up with another trey, his fourth, clawing Penn to within three at 55-52. Washington, who finished with 15 points, fouled out soon after, putting the Quakers in the hands of his fellow freshman, Wang.
 
After two Big Red free throws, Wang canned a three and the deficit became just two at 57-55 with 8:17 left. Two more shots from the foul line fell for Cornell and then Wang hit another jumper, closing it to two again with 7:31 to play. The rookie from China tied the game at 59-59 and then drilled a three to put Penn back ahead, remarkably, at 64-62.
 
With the game tied at 66-66, Brodeur bullied his way to the basket for a layup plus the foul. He missed the free throw and went 1-of-2 from the line on the next possession, but Penn was ahead again, at 69-67. A three from Cornell's Matt Morgan put the Big Red back ahead, but Wang punched back with another jumper, two of his 16 points. That set the stage for Cornell's final winning run.
 
Up Next
Penn continues this opening Ivy League weekend at Columbia's Levien Gym in New York City. The Quakers and Lions will tip off at 8 p.m., following the Penn-Columbia women's basketball game which is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start.