Penn basketball downs upset-hungry Ursinus, 73-66

It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done.

Behind junior forward Matt Howard’s first career double-double and a 10-0 run to start the second half, Penn men’s basketball avoided a major upset scare at the hands of local Division III foe Ursinus, taking a 73-66 home victory to snap a four-game losing skid in the squad’s first game against a non-Division I opponent since December 2006.

“I thought it was great for the kids [to get the chance to play at the Palestra], but once the game starts, that stuff is gone,” said Penn coach Steve Donahue, who played for Ursinus during the 1980s and scheduled the Bears partially in order to give their players the chance to experience the esteemed arena.

“I was proud of our guys. People just look at it as a Division III game, but we just came off of finals and 10 days off; it’s a whole different mindset that our team has, and I’m proud that our team came out in the second half and played well.”

When three-pointers from Howard and sophomore guard Darnell Foreman gave the Quakers (5-5) a 6-2 lead in the game’s first two minutes, the game seemed destined to be the laugher that the media anticipated.

However, Ursinus guard Matt Knowles had other ideas.

The 6-foot-2 junior keyed a 9-0 run for the Bears as they jumped out to a surprising 11-6 edge, and lead got as large as seven points in the first half, as Ursinus appeared to be energized from the opportunity to play in the Palestra — referred to by sophomore forward Joe LoStracco as “the capital of college basketball” before the game.

Howard led Penn’s own 9-0 run midway through the first half to put Penn up 19-17, but Ursinus (1-5, 0-3 Centennial Conference) wouldn’t lay down, as their tenacious 3-2 zone defensive scheme helped minimize the impact of their noticeable size deficit. The Bears forced 10 first-half turnovers and limited Red and Blue star Darien Nelson-Henry to two first half points, as Knowles’ shooting and senior forward Malik Draper’s slashing kept Ursinus in the game offensively.

Throughout the last 10 minutes of the first half, the lead went back and forth, and after a deep Knowles three-pointer with four seconds left, the supposed mismatch was suddenly left with a 36-36 tie at the break.

Donahue’s halftime words must have worked magic, though, as Penn responded with a dominant stretch to open the second frame. Ursinus finally returned to Earth offensively after shooting 58.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, and the Quakers took advantage, with crisp ball movement leading to the 10-point spurt punctuated by Nelson-Henry’s first career three-pointer to break the game open.

“To start the second half with seven straight stops was huge,” Donahue said. “To get back into good half-court, man-to-man defense was key for us, and we started having success.”

As Howard made his presence known inside and Jones, responsible for 19 points and 10 rebounds on the game, was as dominant as usual from beyond the arc, Penn finally seized control. The Quakers opened up a 14-point lead before Donahue broke up his starting group of Antonio Woods, Darnell Foreman, Howard, Jones and Nelson-Henry.

“The shots just kept falling,” said Howard, who set career-highs with 23 points and 11 rebounds. “I just stayed aggressive and tried to make some plays.”

Ursinus wouldn’t surrender yet, as Knowles (who finished with a career-high 26 points) tried to keep his team alive, but there wasn’t enough time for the Bears to complete their miracle. A Knowles three cut the deficit to eight, but a flagrant foul by Draper on Howard followed by a Howard assist to Jones’ fifth three-pointer put Penn back up by 14 with five minutes left.

“It was very easy to get back into the playing mindset, because taking finals is not a fun thing to do,” Howard reflected. “I was ready to get back out here playing on the court."

Ursinus couldn’t get within less than eight points the rest of the way, as a strong defensive effort led by Nelson-Henry’s five blocks helped Penn limit Ursinus to a 12-for-36 shooting effort in the second half, allowing the Quakers to secure their first win since a Nov. 25 win over La Salle.

Next up, Penn will head back to the world of D-I basketball, making the short walk to the Daskalakis Athletic Center to face local rival Drexel (1-7) on Tuesday evening. Drexel has won the past five matchups between these two foes, including a 61-59 win at the Palestra in November 2012. The Dragons are currently ranked 213th in the Pomeroy rankings, while the Quakers are at 265th.

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