ITHACA, N.Y. -- Jackson Donahue scored 25 points, Matt Howard had 20 and Darien Nelson-Henry had 15 points, 16 rebounds and six assists and Penn used a 56-point second half to hold off Cornell 92-84 on Saturday evening at Newman Arena. The Quakers took over sole possession of fourth place in the Ancient Eight in improving to 9-12 (3-4 Ivy), while the Big Red fell to 9-13 (2-6 Ivy).

The Quakers shot 63 percent after halftime and connected on 5-of-9 3-pointers after the break, outrebounded Cornell 45-32 for the game and was +15 at the free-throw line, but couldn't get a stop defensively after cutting the deficit to one possession twice in the final minutes, including to just two (86-84) with 28 seconds remaining.

Freshman Matt Morgan continued his torrid scoring pace with a game-high 28 points to go along with four assists and three rebounds, while Robert Hatter chipped in 21 points, four rebounds and four assists and JoJo Fallas nailed all four of his 3-point attempts on his way to a 16-point, four-assist night. Troy Whiteside had nine points and five rebounds and David Onuorah ripped down nine rebounds. The Big Red connected on 12 3-pointers, including 10 after halftime, and had 16 assists to just 11 turnovers in the contest.

Penn jumped out to a 23-11 lead nine minutes into the contest before Cornell went on a 14-2 run to tie it up as Morgan scored 12 of the points in the span of just 2:36. The Quakers built the lead back to seven, but Cornell closed on a 6-0 run in the final 1:38, with Morgan scoring four and Hatter bouncing an inbounds pass under the basket off the back of Darien Nelson-Henry in the final two seconds to go into halftime trailing just 36-35.

Cornell came out of the gates in the second half  to tak ethe lead on a Troy Whiteside jumper, but Penn went on a 11-2 run to regain control. The two teams traded baskets for a long stretch, with big 3-pointers by Morgan, Fallas, Darryl Smith and Robert Mischler answering Quaker baskets to get the Big Red within a possession, but could never take the lead. Penn hit six free throws in the game's final 25 seconds to claim the win.

The game featured the return to the sidelines of Quakers coach Steve Donahue, who directed the Big Red for 10 seasons (2000-10) and guided the program to three Ivy titles and the 2010 NCAA Sweet 16.

NOTES TO KNOW
• Junior JoJo Fallas was one point off his career high with 16 points, while his 4-of-4 night from 3-point range tied for the second-best single game mark in school history.
• Fallas is the third Big Red player to go 4-for-4 from beyond the arc this season, joining Darryl Smith against Binghamton and Robert Hatter against Siena.
• Ryan Wittman holds the schools record for most 3-pointers in a game without a miss with five against Bryant on Jan. 2, 2010.
• The 28-point night by freshman Matt Morgan is his ninth 20-point game this season and his 11th straight with at least 15 points.
• It was the fifth time in the last eight games Morgan has scored at least 26 points.
• His scoring effort also moved the rookie up to second on the school's career freshman scoring list, ending the night with 396 points and surpassing Louis Dale '10 (372). Next up is the record holder, Ryan Wittman '10 (436).
• Morgan has led the team in scoring in each of its eight Ivy League contests.
• The Big Red's 16 assists were a season high and its 12 3-pointers ranks second behind only the 13 it hit at Georgia Tech in the season opener.
• Senior Robert Mischler (three points) and junior Desmond Fleming (two rebounds, one assist) each made their first career starts.
• Cornell got 48 points from its bench, a season high.

NEXT UP
• Cornell closes out a four-game homestand when Dartmouth and Harvard visit Newman Arena.
• The Big Red will look for the season sweep of the Big Green when the two teams meet on Friday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m., then will attempt to sweep Harvard the following night at 6 p.m. in a contest that will be simulcast on the Ivy League Digital Network and ESPN3.