M. Hoops down, not out, in Ivy League race

Losing to Princeton isn't the end of the world. At least that's what Penn men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy told his players. Tuesday night's 14-point loss at the Palestra put Penn a game behind Princeton in the Ivy League standings, but Dunphy isn't taking a fatalistic approach. "We can't dwell on it,"Dunphy said. "We let a lot of people down [on Tuesday], but the only way we can [bounce] back is to keep playing hard." The Quakers' situation now in the Ivy League is similar to 1998-99. That year, Penn lost its first contest to Princeton at home (in the infamous 'Heartbreak at the Palestra') to fall a game back in the Ancient Eight. But three days after defeating Penn in February of 1999, Princeton lost to Yale. The following weekend, the Tigers fell to Harvard. Meanwhile, Penn ran the table in the Ivy League and sealed the title with a 25-point victory at Jadwin. However, there are several differences in the two situations. Penn's only league loss was to Princeton in 1998-99, while the Quakers have already dropped a decision to Harvard this season. And the 1998-99 Quakers, who went 8-4 in their non-conference regular season schedule, defeated Big 5 rivals Temple, La Salle and St. Joseph's. The 2000-01 Quakers are 3-12 outside of the Ancient Eight and finished 0-4 in the Big 5. * Penn had a day off from practice yesterday. It certainly wasn't a reward for losing by 14 to Princeton on Tuesday. But it wasn't a punishment either. The NCAAdictates that a team take off one day a week, and because the Quakers worked out on Sunday and Monday to prepare for Princeton, Penn's day off happened to be yesterday. * Penn guard David Klatsky is closing in on the Quakers' single-season assist record. The record, set by Dave Wohl in 1971-72 and tied by Paul Chambers in 1991-92, is 151. Klatsky currently has 120 assists through 22 games, an average of 5.45 per game. He needs to average 4.43 assists per game in Penn's final seven contests to break the record. "If it happens, that'll be great for David,"Dunphy said. "But we can't do anything out of the ordinary to get him the record." Wohl averaged 5.21 assists per game in 1971-72, while Chambers averaged 5.80 assists per game in 1991-92. Klatsky is currently second in the Ivy League in assists, behind only Harvard's Elliot Prasse-Freeman (128 in 20 games). * The Quakers' other starting guard is also on pace to break a team record. Lamar Plummer has 70 three-pointers through 22 games, an average of 3.18 per game. He needs to average 3.0 three-pointers in Penn's remaining seven games to tie Matt Maloney's mark of 91, set in 1992-93. Plummer's 70 threes is already tied (with Matt Langel's mark from a year ago) for fourth-best in team history. With just three more three-pointers, Plummer will pass Jed Ryan and Garett Kreitz to move into second place. Plummer currently leads the Ivy League in threes. He has 13 more three-pointers than the runner-up, Yale's Chris Leanza. * Penn committed 10 fouls in the last 1:56 against Princeton on Tuesday, leading to 19 Tigers free throws. Koko Archibong committed Penn's last foul with 16 seconds remaining and the Quakers trailing by a seemingly insurmountable margin of 13 points. Princeton fans -- and even some Penn fans -- booed the incessant fouling, but Dunphy defended his decision. "Why would it be fouling too much?" Dunphy said. "Later in the year, we might be down by less than that and need to foul and we might make a few threes. "You have to instill a mentality that there's a never-quit attitude out there in your players." * Princeton made 17 of those 19 free throws in the last two minutes. "They came through at the foul line,"Dunphy said on Tuesday. "They needed to make them and they did." Princeton guard Ahmed El-Nokali, who sank all 11 of his free throws on Tuesday, said that Princeton coach John Thompson III makes his players take 50 foul shots a day. "We're ready for those situations,"El-Nokali said on Tuesday. Penn, meanwhile, continued its free-throw struggles on Tuesday, shooting just 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) from the line. And Quakers guards Lamar Plummer and Dave Klatsky were a each a dismal 0-for-2. Penn is last in the Ivy League in free-throw shooting at 61.7 percent. Princeton leads the Ancient Eight with a 72.2 percent mark from the foul line.

Losing to Princeton isn't the end of the world. At least that's what Penn men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy told his players. Tuesday night's 14-point loss at the Palestra put Penn a game behind Princeton in the Ivy League standings, but Dunphy isn't taking a fatalistic approach. "We can't dwell on it,"Dunphy said. "We let a lot of people down [on Tuesday], but the only way we can [bounce] back is to keep playing hard." The Quakers' situation now in the Ivy League is similar to 1998-99. That year, Penn lost its first contest to Princeton at home (in the infamous 'Heartbreak at the Palestra') to fall a game back in the Ancient Eight. But three days after defeating Penn in February of 1999, Princeton lost to Yale. The following weekend, the Tigers fell to Harvard. Meanwhile, Penn ran the table in the Ivy League and sealed the title with a 25-point victory at Jadwin. However, there are several differences in the two situations. Penn's only league loss was to Princeton in 1998-99, while the Quakers have already dropped a decision to Harvard this season. And the 1998-99 Quakers, who went 8-4 in their non-conference regular season schedule, defeated Big 5 rivals Temple, La Salle and St. Joseph's. The 2000-01 Quakers are 3-12 outside of the Ancient Eight and finished 0-4 in the Big 5. * Penn had a day off from practice yesterday. It certainly wasn't a reward for losing by 14 to Princeton on Tuesday. But it wasn't a punishment either. The NCAAdictates that a team take off one day a week, and because the Quakers worked out on Sunday and Monday to prepare for Princeton, Penn's day off happened to be yesterday. * Penn guard David Klatsky is closing in on the Quakers' single-season assist record. The record, set by Dave Wohl in 1971-72 and tied by Paul Chambers in 1991-92, is 151. Klatsky currently has 120 assists through 22 games, an average of 5.45 per game. He needs to average 4.43 assists per game in Penn's final seven contests to break the record. "If it happens, that'll be great for David,"Dunphy said. "But we can't do anything out of the ordinary to get him the record." Wohl averaged 5.21 assists per game in 1971-72, while Chambers averaged 5.80 assists per game in 1991-92. Klatsky is currently second in the Ivy League in assists, behind only Harvard's Elliot Prasse-Freeman (128 in 20 games). * The Quakers' other starting guard is also on pace to break a team record. Lamar Plummer has 70 three-pointers through 22 games, an average of 3.18 per game. He needs to average 3.0 three-pointers in Penn's remaining seven games to tie Matt Maloney's mark of 91, set in 1992-93. Plummer's 70 threes is already tied (with Matt Langel's mark from a year ago) for fourth-best in team history. With just three more three-pointers, Plummer will pass Jed Ryan and Garett Kreitz to move into second place. Plummer currently leads the Ivy League in threes. He has 13 more three-pointers than the runner-up, Yale's Chris Leanza. * Penn committed 10 fouls in the last 1:56 against Princeton on Tuesday, leading to 19 Tigers free throws. Koko Archibong committed Penn's last foul with 16 seconds remaining and the Quakers trailing by a seemingly insurmountable margin of 13 points. Princeton fans -- and even some Penn fans -- booed the incessant fouling, but Dunphy defended his decision. "Why would it be fouling too much?" Dunphy said. "Later in the year, we might be down by less than that and need to foul and we might make a few threes. "You have to instill a mentality that there's a never-quit attitude out there in your players." * Princeton made 17 of those 19 free throws in the last two minutes. "They came through at the foul line,"Dunphy said on Tuesday. "They needed to make them and they did." Princeton guard Ahmed El-Nokali, who sank all 11 of his free throws on Tuesday, said that Princeton coach John Thompson III makes his players take 50 foul shots a day. "We're ready for those situations,"El-Nokali said on Tuesday. Penn, meanwhile, continued its free-throw struggles on Tuesday, shooting just 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) from the line. And Quakers guards Lamar Plummer and Dave Klatsky were a each a dismal 0-for-2. Penn is last in the Ivy League in free-throw shooting at 61.7 percent. Princeton leads the Ancient Eight with a 72.2 percent mark from the foul line.

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