ITHACA, N.Y. — Big Red, green light.
On Friday, the Quakers suffered a blowout loss at the hands of Cornell, 90-62, adding insult to injury for a Penn team that was already eliminated from Ivy Madness contention. Cornell’s (15-10, 7-5 Ivy) 17 made three-pointers fueled an offensive inferno that torched the Quakers (7-18, 3-9 Ivy) from start to finish, leading to a 28-point margin of defeat that ties the third-largest Ivy League defeat in the history of Penn's program.
“I thought we let our guard down early,” coach Steve Donahue said. “I didn’t think we did a great job closing out … we could have definitely done a better job, but I give them credit too. They were making [shots] they probably don’t typically make.”
The Big Red, who lead the Ivy League in three-pointers made during conference play, showed their perimeter prowess early on by connecting on eight of their first 12 triples to surge to an early 28-13 lead. Cornell guard Cooper Noard found particular success, nailing four first-half triples to pace a 36-point halftime lead for the Big Red.
Cornell’s perimeter-centric scheme can be traced back to Penn’s sideline. Cornell coach Jon Jaques played under Donahue in Ithaca from 2006-2010, including during the Big Red’s run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2010. That team featured a three-point barrage of its own, leading the nation in three-point percentage at 42.9%. Jaques himself was a key contributor, shooting 45% from beyond on three attempts per game.
“Jon has got a mix of what we do and what we did when he was a player: We share the ball, we space out, we cut hard,” Donahue said. “When they shoot like that, they’re really good … [Jacques] has the right demeanor, he holds his kids accountable … I think their team is starting to really mold into what he’s like.”
Cornell’s hot shooting coincided with one of Penn’s coldest nights of the year. Thanks in part to a vocal Big Red student section, the Quakers shot just 18.5% from three, including several shots that missed the rim entirely. Penn also committed a season-high 19 turnovers, leading to 19 Big Red points.
“I never judge a shot whether it’s miss or make, I usually judge it by [whether] it was the right shot to take,” Donahue said. “If they miss it, they miss it.”
Penn struggled to make up ground in the second half. With 13 minutes left to play, Cornell guard Jacob Beccles hammered home a fast-break dunk to put the Big Red ahead 79-38, putting an exclamation point on an already emphatic win.
The game’s late stages saw significant minutes for several of Penn’s younger players, including freshman center Michelangelo Oberti freshman forward Bradyn Foster. Donahue said that the opportunity was “big for [the program],” while noting that many great Ivy League players do not see significant court time as freshmen.
“I hope that [with] this experience they get to feel that they’re ready to go next year [and] understand what it’s going to take to compete at this level,” Donahue said.
The Quakers entered the contest with little to play for. After being eliminated from Ivy Madness contention with last week’s loss to Harvard, Penn will play out the final stretch of the season without the hope of a postseason appearance.
Penn will continue its New York road trip with a matchup against Columbia on Saturday night.
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