Penn holds off Columbia for first Ivy win of the season

THINGS WERE turning into deja vu Friday night at the Palestra for coach Steve Donahue and his University of Pennsylvania basketball team. The Quakers turned in a strong first half, only to watch it melt away minute by minute in the second.

This scenario has been repeated for Donahue's team all season, but the Quakers were determined not to let it happen again. Penn hung tough late in the second half and closed things out efficiently to take down Columbia, 70-62, and secure the Quakers' first Ivy League win of the season.

"I thought the difference in the game was we understood how hard we had to play to win," Donahue said.

That understanding was evident from the opening tip. Every player on the floor in a home white jersey seemed to be a manifestation of the Energizer Bunny. Every loose ball seemed to find its way to a Quaker, and every break seemingly went their way.

"Bottom line was I think we played hard as heck," Donahue said. "We wanted this game, needed this game, and I'm very happy for the guys that we got it."

The Quakers collected 15 offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes, while the Lions managed only 10 in that span.

Penn (8-12, 1-6 Ivy League) easily got the ball in the middle of the Lions' 2-3 zone, using the high post as the catalyst for its offense. That helped Penn take a 37-28 lead into the locker room at the half.

Then Donahue laid into his players a little bit. He said that, yes, the offensive rebounding was great, but they were turning the ball over. He said they were a better team than what they were showing on the court. He let them have it.

As he put it, though, that didn't really work.

Columbia (10-10, 4-3) opened the second half in man-to-man defense and didn't allow a Quakers bucket for nearly 51/2 minutes. The Lions went on their own 8-0 run during that time, giving Penn that deja vu feeling.

The Quakers, however, shook off the adversity and played tough basketball down the stretch. Junior Sam Jones, who led the Quakers with a season-high 17 points, came up with big shots. He and freshman AJ Brodeur, who had 14 points, played the inside-outside game well, which ultimately allowed Penn to climb into the Ivy column.

"The ball movement and the poise everyone had (was incredible), especially the big guys catching it in the middle, and (they) made the right passes, the easy passes, and I just happened to be on the receiving end of that," Jones said.

Besides getting that monkey off their backs, the win could serve as a launching point for the rest of the Quakers' season. The first Ivy win is behind them, and their work has been validated. Donahue thinks that could lead to a big breakthrough for his team for the rest of the Ivy season.

"I think they got to the point where they were angry. They've put so much into this that they didn't want it to slip away," Donahue said.

"We've obviously been through quite a bit over the last few weeks, and this group has been incredibly resilient through it all. I think we took a big step tonight."

Not big enough for Jones, though.

"I'm happy, but I'm not that happy," he said. "It's only one win, and we have a long way to go."

The next step on that journey is Sunday at home against Cornell.

@AndrewJAlbert01