1993-94 IVY LEAGUE M. HOOPS STANDINGS: Quakers closing in on Ivy crown

M. Hoops hosts Yale and Brown Last weekend, the Penn men's basketball team was given a scare which almost cost the Quakers their second straight perfect Ivy League season. This weekend, Penn is determined to not let that happen again. In its final home Ivy weekend of the season, the Quakers host Yale and Brown, who despite some serious early setbacks, have managed decent seasons thus far. "The first time we played Yale, I think they played us very well," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "And as far as Brown is concerned, I think we played one of our best games of the year at Brown two weeks ago, and yet they still hung tough. I'm sure both teams are going to be quite ready for us." As far as tonight's contest against the Elis at the Palestra (7 p.m., WOGL 1210-AM) goes, the Quakers (19-2, 9-0 Ivy League) face a squad which has been bitten by the injury bug, but has still managed to have a surprisingly successful season. Yale (8-14, 5-5) is coming off a home sweep of Columbia and Cornell, and is arguably playing its best ball of the season. After losing starting center Sean Fitzgerald early to a broken ankle, the Elis again were bit by the injury bug when their leading scorer, forward Andy Karazim, broke his wrist in a scuffle in practice. Yale was able to shake off those setbacks, as Fitzgerald (5.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds) came back earlier than expected from his injury, and senior guards Damon Franklin (12.8 ppg) and Josh Jennings (10.7 ppg, 3.1 assists) filled the scoring void created by Karazim's absence. As an extra boost for the team, freshman forward Dan Okonkwo has come alive, scoring 27 points and pulling down eight rebounds in the Elis' 83-66 win over Cornell Saturday night. Okonkwo was subsequently named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. "Yale gave us a tough game the last time we played them," said Dunphy of Quakers' 76-66 win in New Haven. "They got solid play from their guards, and we'll expect to see the same this time around." Brown (11-11, 5-5) is also on a hot streak, as it comes into tomorrow's contest (7 p.m., WXPN 88.5-FM, WSSJ 1310-AM, WCZN 1590-AM) winners of three straight. A young team, the Bears lost five of their first seven league games. But Brown turned it around, completing a New York sweep of the Lions and Big Red. In addition, the Bears were able to defeat Princeton two weeks ago, a fact which didn't go unnoticed by Penn. "Although we probably played one of our best games of the season against them the last time, they still showed that they have a solid team," Dunphy said. "And beating Princeton the next night shows what kind of team they've got." The Bears have a balanced attack, led by junior captain Alan Cole. The small forward likes to shoot from long range, and is the league's fourth leading scorer averaging 14.5 points per game. Brown also features two talented, but inexperienced guards in the sophomore duo of Eric Blackiston and Brian Lloyd. Blackiston (10.4 ppg, 4.1 assists) is a dangerous penetrater whose running one-hander with five seconds left gave the Bears a two-point victory over Cornell last week. Lloyd (12.0 ppg), who was the Bears leading scorer in their 79-59 loss to the Quakers two weeks ago, is the league's top three-point shooter, hitting 59 bombs for 46 percent on the season. With just five games left in their regular season, the Quakers feel they have to improve their play if they have hopes of doing damage in the postseason. And, as Dunphy realizes, if Penn wants to realize its goal of winning a tournament game, that improvement must start tonight against the Elis. "You'd always like to be playing better at this point in the season," Dunphy said. "There are certain stretches in games where we play as well as we can play, and other stretches where we are not paying attention to details. I have got our guys more consistent, and hopefully that will happen over the course of the last five games."