PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team looked like it might be in another toss-up game late on Saturday, holding just a six-point lead over Cornell with less than five minutes left on Macquarie Court at The Palestra. However, from there the Quakers went on a 14-0 run and were able to pull away for a 68-50 victory over the Big Red.
 
Penn improved to 16-10 overal with the win and are now 4-6 in the Ivy League, one game behind Brown and Cornell for fourth place and a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Cornell fell to 13-13 overall and is now 5-5 in Ivy play.
 
Notes
*After allowing Cornell to score 50 second-half points in a loss in Ithaca on February 1, Penn held the Big Red to just 18 second-half points on Saturday; that was fewest by any opponent in the Steve Donahue coaching era.

*Penn won for the first time this season when scoring fewer than 70 points; previously the Quakers were 0-7 in such games.
 
*Penn had 11 three-point baskets on Saturday, the second straight game and 12th time this season they have reached double digits in that category this season.
 
*For the second straight night and the seventh time this season, Penn took more three-point shots (29) than two-point shots (27).
 
*For the sixth time this season, Penn had a single-digit turnover total (9).
 
*Junior AJ Brodeur led Penn with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double this season and his 17th at Penn.
 
*Brodeur now has double figures in 20 straight games, averaging 18.2 points per game in that stretch.
 
*Brodeur moved up to 20th on Penn's all-time scoring list; he now has 1,255 career points at Penn.
 
*Junior Devon Goodman had 16 points, his seventh time reaching double figures in the last eight games; he is averaging 15.9 ppg over the last eight games.
 
*Senior Jake Silpe started for the first time since December 31 and had 12 points, giving him 26 for the weekend; he also had four assists and three steals on Saturday.
 
*Senior Antonio Woods also had 12 points on Saturday, his fifth straight game in double digits (12.8 ppg in that stretch) and sixth in the last seven contests.
 
*Woods and fellow senior Max Rothschild played their 100th games at Penn; Rothschild finished with five points, four rebounds and a blocked shot.
 
How It Happened
Penn shot out to an early 8-4 lead in the first four minutes thanks to threes from Antonio Woods and Devon Goodman, sandwiching a nifty layup from AJ Brodeur after his pump fake sent a Cornell defender flying by. The Big Red answered with a three, but Goodman promptly canned two more long balls to quickly double up Cornell, 14-7 with just over 14 minutes left in the first half.
 
The lead grew to as large as nine before a Cornell three dug into the deficit, but Goodman—who poured in 16 points on the night—countered with his fourth first-half three pointer followed by a bucket from Brodeur ballooning Penn's lead to 22-10 with 8:38 remaining.
 
Like all Ivy League matchups, though, Cornell battled back and nine consecutive points made it a single-possession game with under seven minutes to play before the intermission.
 
Ray Jerome stopped the bleeding for the Quakers, pulling up and dropping a three from the wing to double the lead and then Brodeur, who led four Quakers in double figures with 17 points to go with 10 boards, sliced through the lane and threw one down to push the lead back to eight, at 27-19. Six consecutive Big Red points again allowed Cornell to claw within just two, but Jake Silpe nailed a three to keep Cornell at arm's length. However, the Big Red closed the half on a 7-0 run and took a 32-30 lead into the break.
 
Michael Wang started the half by leveling the score at 32-32 with a tip-in, then Brodeur pinned a Cornell layup off the glass and found a cutting Silpe for a bucket and the foul to push Penn back in front. Silpe then slipped around a screen and dove to the basket for another score, this time extending the Quakers' advantage to 41-37 with 15:44 to play. Following a Cornell bucket, Silpe whipped a cross-court pass to an open Woods on the wing and the senior calmly stared down a long ball. On the next possession, on an out-of-bounds play, Silpe curled around a screen and drilled another three, extending the lead to eight, at 47-39.
 
The Big Red just wouldn't go away, however, led by Matt Morgan's long-distance assault. Five straight points from Morgan pulled Cornell within four with just under nine minutes left on the clock before Silpe found Brodeur for a big bucket to move the cushion back to six. The lead moved to eight when Woods threaded a pass to Brodeur under the basket for an easy dunk with 6:36 left. A stop of the defensive end and a lengthy outlet to Goodman led to an easy transition layup. For the next basket, Woods bullied his way to the rack and delicately banked home a layup, growing the lead to 10 and Max Rothschild moved it to 12 by tapping in a put back with 2:38 to play.
 
Woods, who matched Silpe with 12 points, put the finishing touches on a much-needed win when he broke down his defender off the dribble, stepped back and canned a three while drawing a foul. He converted the four-point play and pushed the lead to 20 in the process, securing the win.
 
Up Next
Penn is on the road for one final Ivy League weekend, traveling to the Northernmost Ivies in Harvard (Friday) and Dartmouth (Saturday). Both games next weekend will tip off at 7 p.m., and Friday's matchup with the Crimson will be televised to a national audience on ESPNU.