Penn gets win in Donahue's return to Cornell

ITHACA, N.Y. - Steve Donahue was the last man off the team bus when Penn pulled up outside Newman Arena nearly two hours before tipoff on Saturday. It had been five years since he had been to the place where he won three Ivy League championships in 10 years as the Cornell head coach.

The moment he walked through the doors and into the concourse, suitcase in hand, two security guards and a food vendor called out to him. It was as if he had never left.

"When I was on the court, and you look up and there's 100, 200 people that I knew for 10 years that really supported me," Donahue said after the game. "That got to me a little bit. I tried to shake it."

The last time Donahue coached a game in Newman Arena, it was a win against Penn to clinch the Ivy League title on Feb. 27, 2010. Facing his old program for the first time, Donahue once again led his team to victory, as the Quakers (9-12, 3-4 Ivy League) pulled away from Cornell (9-13, 2-6) for a 92-84 triumph.

Penn guard Jackson Donahue led the Quakers with 25 points, while center Darien Nelson-Henry had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists. Cornell's Matt Morgan had 28 points in the loss.

"We all knew it [was his first game back], and we wanted to come in here and prove something to him," Nelson-Henry said.

Donahue said before the game that he didn't expect a huge ovation. But when the public-address announcer asked the crowd to welcome him back, nearly all the 1,237 fans in attendance rose to their feet. The Cornell players turned to him and acknowledged the coach as well.

The Quakers jumped out to a 10-point lead early in the first half, but the Big Red sliced the deficit to one on a Robert Hatter buzzer-beater to end the first half. The teams combined to shoot 4 of 24 from behind the arc in the first half but hit a combined 15 three-point shots in the second.

Donahue waited for the final buzzer as his team hit free throws to close it out. When it did go off, he didn't so much as clap or smile.

Once again, Donahue was a winner at Newman.

"I love this place," he said. "I support them when we're not playing them. It's a good night. But when it came to the game, I want my guys to win. I was very proud of our effort."