Penn men’s basketball’s best half of the season came when the team needed it most.
In a road matchup with Cornell (10-10, 3-4 Ivy) that threatened to drop the Quakers (10-10, 3-4 Ivy) to 2-5 in conference play, Penn put together a first period to remember, storming out to a 23 point lead behind a 59% shooting clip, eight threes, and kinetic energy on defense.
“First half was about as good as you can play,” coach Fran McCaffery said of the team’s defensive execution against the Big Red.
Cornell punched back after halftime, cutting the lead to two thanks to a hot shooting stretch of their own. But the Quakers weathered the storm, getting to the free throw and stringing together timely baskets for their first win in Ithaca since 2022.
From a standings perspective, the win helped keep Penn in the Ivy Madness picture — the Quakers are now one of three teams tied for fifth place in the Ancient Eight and trail fourth place by just one game. From a season perspective, it showed what the group is capable of despite an imperfect start to McCaffery’s first campaign.
A year ago, Penn was run off the court against the Big Red as Cornell coach Jon Jacques — a former player under then Penn coach Steve Donahue — beat Donahue at his own game: perimeter shooting. Jacques’s fast-paced offense detonated for 17 three-pointers in a 28-point victory, writing another chapter in a dismal campaign for Penn that ultimately resulted in Donahue’s dismissal.
McCaffery brought a similar style with him when he arrived to Philadelphia, one that emphasizes pace, movement, and generating quality looks from beyond. Penn is currently shooting 39.2% from three, good for 16th in the nation.
The Quakers’ full hand was on display in their 47.4% triple shooting effort in Ithaca. Senior guard/forward Michael Zanoni led the team with 19 points and hit 3-for-4 shots from the perimeter, making the most of his frequent catch-and-shoot opportunities. McCaffery often schemes Zanoni open with pindown screens and curl actions, allowing him to catch at the wing or the elbow and either rise into a jumper or create space with his handle.
“I think my teammates and coaches do a good job keeping my confidence high, running actions for me,” Zanoni said. “And then when I get one, they run the same play.”
Zanoni also knows how to move in space to maximize his clean looks. Here, he flares out to the wing before sliding to the corner where Dartmouth’s zone can’t reach him in time.
Zanoni has also had his share of off nights, including a combined 2-of-19 shooting performance across losses to Harvard and Yale. But he seems to have regained his rhythm on Penn’s New York road trip, and has cemented himself as a legitimate co-star alongside senior guard/forward Ethan Roberts and junior forward TJ Power.
Another plus for Penn’s offense against the Big Red was its production from the center position. Junior forward Augustus Gerhart and freshman forward/center Dalton Scantlebury have served as the team’s one-two punch at the big spot, and both bring unique advantages.
Gerhart, the Quakers’ starter, has progressed significantly over the course of the season to match McCaffery’s trademark pace. He is a solid screener and a tenacious offensive rebounder — his 2.6 offensive boards per game lead the Ivy League.
When playing alongside Roberts, Power, and Zanoni, Gerhart isn’t tasked with a significant scoring load, but he has his moments. At the start of the second half against Cornell, Gerhart took advantage of his matchup with Cornell’s 6’2” guard Cooper Noard en route to four straight field goals. He finished with 13 points on the day, the third highest total of his collegiate career.
Scantlebury is an old school mosher who uses his considerable size and strength to bully opposing defenders on the block. His footwork is also a strong point, giving him the mobility necessary to capitalize on his backdown game. In a nonconference clash with Merrimack, Scantlebury rattled off 22 points on perfect shooting along with 13 rebounds, eight of which were offensive.
Both bigs have their flaws. Gerhart is a bit turnover-prone for the relatively little amount he handles the ball (he has five games with two or more TOs this season), while Scantlebury occasionally gets tunnel vision and forces contested looks. But together, the pair give McCaffery a tandem he can trust both this season and beyond.
“We got 25 points and 10 rebounds out of that position tonight,” McCaffery said of Gerhart and Scantlebury’s combined play against Cornell. “That tells you everything you need to know, statistically.”
Penn’s weak point, both this year and toward the end of Donahue’s tenure, has been the other side of the ball.
The Quakers rank seventh in the Ivy in opponent points per game and opponent field goal percentage, and protecting the basket has been especially difficult — the Red and Blue have surrendered 40+ points in the paint in four of their seven league games, including losses to Princeton, Yale, and Columbia. Gerhart and Scantlebury bear much of that burden as the team’s primary anchors, but they’ve often been put in rotation after Penn’s perimeter defenders let up penetrating drives.
The Quakers’ win over Cornell went a long way toward showing what the team is capable of defensively. Though the Big Red make their money from beyond the arc, their up-tempo offense places stress on the entire defensive front with a heavy dose of off-ball design.
“They’re running constant screening actions, dribble ats, back doors,” McCaffery said.
But Penn was up to the challenge, limiting Cornell to 38.7% shooting in the first half and 45.2% overall. The Quakers also combined for five blocks on the day including two from Scantlebury. Here, he swiftly rotates to help on Power’s rolling man, goes vertical, and gets the rejection. The post bucket at the other end is a bonus.
“I thought Scantlebury was really good anchoring the defense, but all of our perimeter guys were up,” McCaffery said.
If Penn wants to achieve its goal of an Ivy Madness berth in McCaffery’s maiden voyage, it will have to be better than 3-4 during the second half of the conference slate. But with an effort like Saturday’s on the books, there’s reason to believe they can.
