1993-94 IVY LEAGUE M. HOOPS STANDINGS: Quakers beat Princeton again

M. Hoops thrashes the Tigers 66-55 at Jadwin PRINCETON, N.J. -- You could see it in their strained eyes. You could see it in their weary faces. You could see it in their tired bodies. Relief. There were no outer signs of joy from a Penn men's basketball team that had just come out victorious over archrival Princeton, 66-55, Saturday night. There were no wild high fives or smiles as the Quakers filed off the floor of Jadwin Gymnasium. Instead, there was simple relief. Relief that the team had just cleared its first major hurdle of the Ivy season without stumbling. Relief that it had withstood a 16-1 Tiger run midway through the second half. Relief that for another day the tremendous expectations hurled upon the Quakers had been fulfilled. In a season where an Ivy victory for Penn (12-2, 3-0 Ivy League) has been expected by virtually all fans and prognosticators, pressure now rests upon the Quakers' broad shoulders. And while Penn realizes that it is good, really good, it still must go out and prove its superiority each and every game. Especially on the road, where none is tougher than at Princeton. "It's fun for me," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "This is what Penn basketball is about, to come up here and play Princeton with the history and tradition they have. During the course of the pregame talks you don't have to say much. They were ready." "It's definitely a big win," said senior forward Barry Pierce, who netted 14 points. "Last year it was sort of a turning point, and this year we sort of wanted to take the same importance into this game. I think we came out of it with that." Saturday night did not start difficulty for the Quakers. Penn dominated the first half, relying heavily on a strong inside attack. Princeton (9-6, 2-1) played the Quakers tight on the perimeter, hoping to negate the strong Penn outside shooting. The Quakers took what the defense gave them, and they did so effectively. Penn pounded the ball inside, and found immense success. Eleven of the team's 13 field goals for the half came from within 10 feet of the basket. Translation: high percentage shots and a shooting percentage for the half of 65 percent. Especially effective inside for the Quakers were forwards Tim Krug (10 points in only 13 minutes) and Shawn Trice (11 points). "It's just a matter of milking the cow," said Penn junior guard Jerome Allen, who tallied 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists. "Whatever is going for you, you keep tapping it. When we were out in Seattle [for the U.S. West Cellular Air Time Tournament], our inside game pretty much won the tournament for us. I'm just glad somebody stepped up and made some shots." On the defensive end, Penn utilized stringent defense, limiting the Tigers to 44-percent shooting. The only bright spot for Princeton was the play the team's newest starter, freshman guard Sydney Johnson. The 6-3 guard hit all five of his field goal attempts, and both of his free throws, giving him 12 points at the intermission. Without Johnson's efforts, the rest of the Tigers combined for just 3 of 13 field goals, a woeful 23 percent. "I think we're a good defensive team, and I think this was as good as we have played defensively all year." Dunphy said. Penn continued to attack the interior and apply tough defensef. The Quakers extended the lead to as much as 21 points, 50-29, with just under nine minutes left in the contest. All this against a Princeton defense ranking first in the nation in points allowed (51.8 ppg entering the game). But then things got just a little tense. As most home teams do, Princeton went on a run All said, the Tigers outscored the Quakers 16-1 in a span of just under four minutes, and cut the Penn lead to 51-45 with still about five minutes left. "We got a nice lead, and I think you typically think that the other team being a good team is going to make their run, and you hope you're up to it." Dunphy said. The Quakers brought the ball up and again "milked the cow," this time in the body of center Eric Moore (four points, four rebounds). Moore responded, and hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game, a jumper in the lane with 4:50 left. This stopped the Princeton onslaught and boosted Penn's lead back to eight points. Besides Penn's proficiency in the paint, and its tenacious defensive effort, another key to the victory was the team's second-half foul shooting, which enabled the Quakers to maintain the lead down the stretch. Collectively, Penn hit 15 of 18 (83 percent) from the charity stripe in the second half, including a perfect 4 for 4 each for Trice and Maloney, and 6 of 8 by Allen. Despite the victory, the Quakers still do not sit atop the Ivy League. That honor goes to Columbia, who is 4-0 in league play. However, that perfect record could have a blemish after the Lions come calling to the Palestra Friday. Penn seems ready to ascend to top of the hill. "I would like people to measure us after the season's over and see how successful our season was," Dunphy said. "We're playing pretty well, but I don't think we've played our best game yet. I wanted our kids to show me that tonight, and I think for the most part they did."