Fans lament Quakers' loss to Temple Owls

It might as well have been the NCAA championship game. That's how excited University students were last night as game time approached for the Penn-Temple basketball game. Many fans felt that this game was the Quakers' best chance to crack the NCAA Top-25 list. "It's the most important non-important game of the year," said College sophomore Andrew Segall before the game. "The Ivy games are really what counts, but this is a real chance for us to get ranked." Other students felt that a win against a nationally ranked team would finally give the Quakers some respect. "Penn basketball is not getting the recognition it should be getting," said College sophomore Chad Haller. "Penn can play with the best." But unfortunately for Segall, Haller and the several hundred other die-hard fans who made the trek to Temple's McGonigle Hall last night, the Quakers fell to the Temple Owls, 76-65. "It was really sad," said College senior Stacey Anderson, who watched the game with about 200 others at Cavanaugh's restaurant and bar. "Up until the last six minutes [the Quakers] did well.? I thought it would be closer." Cavanaugh's bouncer Eric Hebe said last night that there was a great turnout at the bar, which carried the televised game on SportsChannel Philadelphia. "Every point was like the end of the game – they were cheering for everything," he said. "It was a very upbeat atmosphere." Hebe added that fans poured in "from tip-off until the last second" and that "not until the last couple of seconds did they stop cheering." Many fans tried to play the role of game analyst after the defeat, critiquing the team and speculating as to why the Quakers lost. "We didn't make free-throws, [and] a top-25 team makes free-throws," said College freshman Alan Waxman. "We didn't work the ball inside enough, we stayed on the perimeter too much. You need to penetrate – that's how you beat Temple." Anderson echoed Waxman's comments. "Our shooting was really off the mark [which was] uncharacteristic," she said. "There was sloppiness at the end." Despite the heart-breaking loss, Quaker fans were still optimistic about the rest of the season, saying that last night's game was a positive learning experience. "We got some respect and we got some experience for the [NCAA] Tournament," Waxman said. "We know what to expect – we can play with anybody."