City of Basketball Love

Zach Drapkin (@ZachDrapkin) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Penn freshman A.J. Brodeur’s big second half helped the Quakers pull away from visiting Lafayette, snapping a three-game losing streak with an 81-52 victory over the Leopards at the Palestra.

At First…
Penn jumped out to an early advantage thanks to Matt Howard, who scored 12 of the team’s first 17 points. Both teams had trouble shooting from deep, going a combined 6-22 over the first 15 minutes of the first half, but Lafayette was able to string together back-to-back threes from Eric Stafford and Paulius Zalys to cut what was once a nine-point Quakers lead down to one, 24-23, with 3:20 to go in the half.

Turning Point…
Penn answered immediately, firing back with a pair of A.J. Brodeur scores and a pair of Jackson Donahue threes to mount a 10-0 run over the course of two minutes and take their first double-digit lead, 34-23, with 41 seconds until halftime. They carried that momentum through the break, increasing their advantage to 14 with a 9-4 surge to open the second half.

Though the Leopards brought the deficit back within single digits, cutting the Quakers’ lead to 43-34 with 16 minutes remaining, Penn surged right back with a five-minute, 19-2 run to run the lead up to 26, 62-36. From there, it was a coast to the finish, an impressive 81-52 statement victory.

Standout Stars…
With his impressive second-half performance, Brodeur led Penn with a well-rounded performance of 22 points (10-13 FG), seven rebounds, and a career-high five assists. Jackson Donahue provided 15 points in just 19 minutes off the bench, going 4-7 from beyond the arc and turning the ball over just once. Also playing a big role, Matt Howard scored 12 first-half points and finished with 14 and eight boards on the night.

Lafayette sophomore wing forward Paulius Zalys led the Leopards with 14 points and three rebounds as the only members of the Leopards in double figures.

Noteworthy Numbers…
4: Lafayette’s leading scorer, Matt Klinewski, had dropped a career-high 30 points in the Leopards’ last game, but was held scoreless through the first half of play Wednesday night and finished with just four points. His first and only bucket came with 16 minutes to go in the second frame.

51: The teams combined for 51 3-point attempts on the night, Penn with 27 and Lafayette with 24. The Quakers sunk 10 threes while the Leopards made eight.

Up Next…
Penn (3-4) vs. George Mason (7-3) -- Sat., Dec. 10, 2 PM
Lafayette (3-5) vs Sacred Heart (4-5) -- Sun., Dec. 11, 2 PM