Midway through the first half on Saturday at the Palestra, Penn head coach Steve Donahue looked up and saw his Quakers were down 17-10 to Ursinus.
That’s not how the 1984 Ursinus graduate drew it up when he scheduled his alma mater over the summer.
After heading to halftime tied with the Division III Bears, Penn went on a 10-0 run to start the second half to ultimately hold off Ursinus, 73-66, and snap a four-game losing streak.
“Playing someone like Ursinus, who is struggling and a Division III team, makes you understand how big of a challenge [rebuilding] is going to be,” Donahue said. “It’s part of getting better. These kids don’t understand it because they’re young, and they think we’re going to walk in here and win by 40. We’re not that team.”
Penn’s offense was stifled by Ursinus’ 2-3 zone in the first half. The Bears dared the Quakers to shoot the three and took away Darien Nelson-Henry, who came in leading Penn in scoring at 14.6 points per game, on the interior. The Quakers shot 10 for 33 from deep and Nelson-Henry was held to a season-low five points.
However, the turning point of the game were those first four minutes in the second half. Ursinus came out of the locker room ditching the zone and switching to a man-to-man look on defense. Penn took advantage, using its size and speed advantage to go on the 10-0 run.
“I liked where we were and how we managed that first half,” Ursinus head coach Kevin Small said. “Obviously we knew what might happen, and you might say it was really poor coaching to come out in man-to-man.
“Given their effort from beyond the arc, it seems like a silly move. In retrospect, I’ll go watch the film and beat myself over going man-to-man.”
“In the first half, they put us on our heels,” Donahue said. “People won’t understand, but I said to our guys that this is a good win for us. We came out in the second half, figured things out, and made seven straight stops to start the second half.”
The Quakers made their presence felt on the glass, outrebounding Ursinus, 48-35. Although Nelson-Henry’s offensive game was slowed, he was still able to impact the game with 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Penn also got double-doubles from both Matt Howard (23 points and 11 rebounds) and Sam Jones (19 points and 10 rebounds). Ursinus was led by junior guard Matt Knowles, who finished with a career-high 26 points.
“Just knowing the history of this building, it’s one that you definitely circle on the calendar,” Knowles said. “I was really excited about the opportunity to come here when Coach told us this summer, and to be able to come and compete against a really good Division I team, it’s definitely something I’m going to remember forever.”
The Quakers (5-5) will head across the street to Drexel on Tuesday night for their final game before the holidays.