PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Cornell cut a 15-point first half deficit to two, but Penn was able to escape with a 69-61 victory on Friday evening at the Palestra, remaining unbeaten in the Ancient Eight (2-0). The Big Red dropped its Ivy opener and fell to 6-8 on the season.

Junior Stone Gettings had 20 points and a career-best 17 rebounds and classmate Matt Morgan chipped in 13, but Penn's 16-1 first half run proved decisive - leaving Cornell in a hole it could never climb all the way out of. The visitors held a 41-35 edge on the backboards, but 16 turnovers and a 4-of-19 shooting night from beyond the 3-point arc (19 percent) was too much to overcome.

AJ Brodeur led the Quakers with 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Ryan Betley had 13 points and four assists and Darnell Foreman chipped in 12 points and five boards. The Quakers shot 48 percent in the first half and assists on 17 baskets in the victory.

The Big Red couldn't buy a bucket in the first 20 minutes, trailing by 10 (34-24) at the break after hitting just 32 percent of its shots. Cornell was 1-of-11 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes, with Morgan going 0-for-4 from beyond the arch and 1-of-8 from the field overall. Despite that, Cornell dominated the glass (22-14), kept the Quakers from grabbing an offensive rebound and scratched and clawed its way back in the game after trailing by as many as 15.

Penn jumped out to an early nine-point lead (13-4), before the Big Red evened the score at 13-13 with a 9-0 run of its own thanks to a Jack Gordon 3-pointer, a Steven Julian dunk, a basket by Gettings and two free throws from Josh Warren. Penn took control at that point, going on a 16-1 run that stretched exactly six minutes and put the home team ahead for good. 

Cornell came alive to stat the second half, with Gettings scoring the fist 10 points for the Big Red to pull  within 36-34. Each time the Big Red made a run, Penn had an answer. Eight straight Quaker points pushed the lead back to double figures. Cornell against clawed back within 46-42, but a 14-4 run on the other end made it a 14-point game with five minutes to play.

The Big Red didn't go down quietly, as Penn missed 5-of-8 free throws in the final 75 seconds and a pair of Big Red three-point plays - one by Morgan, another by Terrance McBride - cut the deficit to four with 53 ticks remaining after a driving layup by Joel Davis. An offensive foul call on Morgan on the next possession and the Big Red trailing by just five ended up swinging momentum back to the home team, and Penn made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 41 seconds to cement the victory.

Notes to Know
• Gettings' 17 rebounds was the most by a Big Red player since Jeff Foote had 18 against Bucknell in an overtime win during the 2009-10 campaign.
• Morgan extended his own school record for consecutive double figure scoring games to 37, but had his consecutive 20-point game streak ended at 12 games.
• Penn extended its win streak over Cornell to 10 games dating back to the 2012-13 campaign.

Next Up
• The Big Red visits defending Ivy League champion Princeton tomorrow at 7 p.m. on ESPN3 and the Ivy League Network.
The Tigers lead the all-time series 146-80 and have won five straight meetings, but the teams have split the last 26 meetings down the middle (13-13) over the past 13 years.