Colorado beats Penn

Boulder, Colo. -- When Penn forwards Adam Chubb and Ugonna Onyekwe envisioned a matchup against the Colorado Buffalos and a duo of teammates from their former high school -- Mercersburg Academy -- they were surely hoping to mount at least a decent opposition. But Penn's performance at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colo., was anything but decent. Colorado (9-3) jumped out to an early 13-2 lead, a margin that they would only increase as the night progressed. With the help of stellar three-point shooting, the Buffs were able to take Penn (3-4) out of its game before the Quakers had a chance to compose themselves. The Buffs refused to back down throughout the contest, ultimately defeating the Quakers, 80-57. Colorado senior Sephane Pelle, one of Onyekwe and Chubb's teammates from high school, notched his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. He trailed Buffs' leading scorer, junior Michel Morandais, by only three points. "It's always a battle when we [Mercersburg graduates] play, but this is the first time it counted in my house, and I wanted to do what I do best," Pelle said. "I was in shock, we played good defense." "They made shots early," Penn head coach Fran Dunphy said. "We knew that Wilson was a good shooter. It was just Stephane Pelle, Blair Wilson and Michel Morandais kicking our butt. Pelle is a very good basketball player." The Red and Blue, shooting only 17-for-52 from the field for the game, were completely unable to threaten basket inside or out. Penn forward Koke Archibong tallied three fouls within the first ten minutes of play, and sat out the remainder of the first half. "Koko's second foul was very, very foolish," Dunphy said. "He's got to learn to play with those obstacles in the way. But we're at the mid-way point of his senior. It's disappointing." Meanwhile, the Quakers' three-point shooters couldn't get a basket to fall. Penn guards Andrew Toole, Tim Begley and Jeff Schiffner all hit a basket a piece from behind the arc, but combined to miss a total of nine. Penn's usual threat -- the three-point shot -- was useless. Colorado junior shooting guard Blair Wilson lead the Buffs in scoring at the break with 12 points -- all of which came from behind the arc. The sharpshooter sank four of five attempts from three-point land, and helped to squash any hopes of a Penn comeback. "Our game plan was to get out on Wilson, because that's his game," Dunphy said. "But he made four threes in the first half." Penn, who lives and dies by its three-point shooting, was given a taste of its own medicine when Wilson refused to back down from behind the arc. The Quakers themselves went 8-for-26 from three-point land, shooting a dismal 30.8 percent. "We knew that [three-point shooting] was their strength," Wilson said. "We told the posts that they would be on their own on defense and we focused on their shooters outside. "We had enough pressure to make them miss shots." With only two points on the board, the Quakers were finally able to break their six-minute drought mid-way through the first half. But by that time, it was already too little too late. The Quakers continued to rally, knocking in points on nearly every possession, but entered the locker room at halftime behind, 46-28. The Buffalos proved unstoppable on offense, managing to knock in a last-second buzzer-beater shot before the break. The second half was, unfortunately for the Quakers, much more of the same. Colorado continued to dominate, although Penn showed periodic signs of life. Archibong reentered the game and added ten points for the Red and Blue. But he was alone in his energy and ability to break through the Buffalos. Penn committed 14 turnovers on the night, half of which came in the second half and at seemingly crucial moments. Whenever the Quakers appeared to gain any momentum, it was squashed by a frivolous travelling call, or pass into the stands. With 9:44 left in the second half, Penn pulled within 11. But the crowd rose to its feet and Colorado pulled the game back within its control. That was the closest the Quakers would come to victory. For Penn, the final minutes of play were sloppy and disorganized, allowing the Buffs to walk away with a 23-point win. "That team is much better, Penn, than they showed tonight," Colorado head coach Ricardo Patton said. "But we were shooting the ball well and getting after it defensively." The Quakers face the University of Southern California on Saturday in Los Angeles.

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