Sophomore guard Sam Brown drives into the paint against Columbia on Jan. 25.
Credit: , , , , Carly Zhao,It was the game Steve Donahue had been waiting all year for.
On Saturday, Penn men’s basketball (6-11, 2-2 Ivy) won its second straight Ivy League game behind a lights-out shooting performance, hitting 18 three-pointers to outduel Columbia 93-78 and break the program record for three-pointers made against a Division I opponent. Sophomore guard Sam Brown led all scorers with a career-high 30 points including an unconscious 8 of 10 clip from beyond the arc, pacing a team that delivered a long-awaited shooting gem.
“Growing up we all believe in the basketball gods,” Brown said after his career-day in the Cathedral of College Basketball. “You put in X amount of work, and you reap the benefit of what you put in. This is just a testament to all that I’ve done throughout the season.”
“If you watch our maturation over the last month, each game is getting closer to who I think we can be,” Penn men's basketball coach Steve Donahue said. The Quakers finished the day shooting 51.4% from three-point range, a significant uptick from their 31% season average.
Columbia guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa showed why he ranks second in the conference in total scoring — opening the day with a pair of jumpers to give the Lions an early 5-0 lead. That scoring method became familiar, with Columbia generating just two points in the paint in the first 15 minutes of action but connecting on 69% of its first-half three-pointers.
Penn’s offense found its rhythm early, generating open looks from beyond the arc and converting eight of its first 13 triples. One of those shots came in highlight fashion, with sophomore guard/forward Niklas Polonowski dishing a behind-the-back pass to senior guard George Smith and getting it back for a corner three-pointer. Then, Brown hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions — the second of which came from well beyond the arc to put Penn ahead 33-20.
Capitalizing on quality shots has been a point of emphasis for Donahue this season. After multiple games this season, Donahue has pointed to his players’ previous three-point percentages saying it was only a matter of time until their shooting returned. And against the Lions, the Quakers finally found their stroke.
“These kids all have a legacy of making shots — that’s what they’re here [for],” Donahue said. “Ethan Roberts is a 40% career shooter. Sam Brown is, [as is] Nik Polonowski [and] George Smith.".”
“That’s the beauty of basketball,” Donahue added. “It takes a little bit of chemistry. It’s not a science, it’s an art. You can take this either way, start tightening up when everyone’s missing, and when the basket’s big and everyone feels like they’re going in. That’s what we saw today.”
The Lions battled back as the first half wound down, opening up a 19-6 run to tie the game at 39 after Columbia forward Robbie Stankard’s third three-pointer of the first half. Penn entered halftime with a 44-42 lead — the Quakers’ highest-scoring first half of the season.
Senior forward/center Nick Spinoso began the second half on a high note, throwing down a ferocious fastbreak jam as part of an early Quakers run.
“He’s gotta be one of the least athletic guys ever to get so many great dunks,” Donahue joked after the game.
Then, the Quakers tied their season-high in three-pointers on an and-one from Brown, who converted the hoop and the harm to give Penn a double-digit lead. From there, the Red and Blue never looked back.
“We try to do our best job of being level-headed, and sometimes that’s impossible,” Brown said of Penn’s string of highlight plays. “It feels really good to have plays like that to give us momentum, but as much as we can we try to stay in the moment and avoid outcome-related things.”
The Quakers saw balanced scoring across the lineup in addition to Brown’s explosion, with four players in double figures, including junior guard Ethan Roberts, who extended his streak of 10+ point games to 11. That consistency allowed the Red and Blue to pull away throughout the second half, ultimately notching their highest-scoring total of the season.
The Quakers, now tied for fourth in the conference standings, will turn their attention to next week’s back-to-back against Brown and Yale. While some early projections were grim about Penn’s Ivy Madness chance, Saturday’s performance indicated the team’s potential.
And with their first Ivy League win streak since 2023, the Quakers have given themselves something to play for.
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