1993-94 IVY LEAGUE M. HOOPS STANDINGS: Quakers humble Ivy foes at home

M. Hoops trounces Yale, Brown Call it "The Damn Quakers." It's the story of an Ivy men's basketball team that piles up victories, week after week, much to the dismay of its league rivals. The Quakers, who haven't lost an Ivy game in 23 months, are quickly becoming the longest-running show in town, extending their perfect league record by crushing Yale, 87-63, and Brown, 70-43, at the Palestra this weekend. Penn (21-2, 11-0 Ivy League) was bolstered by strong performances from players outside the usual cast of characters. Scott Kegler provided a spark off the bench in the first half Friday, and Shawn Trice dominated the paint all weekend. The blowout wins came just a week after Penn survived a one-point scare in Cambridge. The Quaker performances this weekend suggested the close call against Harvard shook them out of their Ivy doldrums. "There was a little frustration at the end of the Harvard game," Kegler said Friday. "I don't think we played as well as we could have. So Monday, I think everybody came back refocused and said, 'If we're going to win this thing, we've got to play a whole lot better.' I think we had a great week of practice, and we played great tonight too." Yale managed to stay close in the game's first 10 minutes until Kegler heated up. When he hit his first three-pointer with nine minutes left in the half, it gave Penn a seven-point lead, its largest of the game so far. "When other teams focus on Matt, Jerome and Barry," Kegler said, "it leaves a lot of opportunity for someone to come off the bench who's fresh, playing against guys who might be a little winded. You can get a little bit better looks." Kegler scored all 14 of his points in the first half, including 3 of 3 from long distance, as the Quakers opened up an 18-point lead at the break. "If there's any team that's going to be a good team, it has to have good balance, and I think we have pretty good balance," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "I think we have some good guys coming off the bench. I thought Scott in the first half set the tone." While Kegler was sinking the three ball from the outside, Trice was going to work underneath. The junior forward was relentless on the offensive boards, keeping several Quaker possessions alive and converting missed shots into easy layups. "If guys don't get a body on me, I think I can get to the boards," Trice said. "And they weren't getting a body on me." Trice gathered nine rebounds, six on the offensive end, and paced Penn with 18 points. The second half was more of the same as the Quakers opened leads as large as 39 points. In fact, the most interesting thing after the first half was watching Penn running back Terrance Stokes in the American Airlines halfcourt shootout at halftime. The game began to get out of hand when Yale coach Dick Kuchen was ejected for a double technical foul at the 16-minute mark. Kuchen had been complaining for most of the game about what he felt was one-sided officiating. In the first half, Penn attempted 19 free throws to Yale's zero. After looking at the halftime stats, he asked sarcastically, "You think we'll get to the foul line this game?" The answer was yes, but unfortunately for the Elis, it didn't much matter. Penn junior guard Matt Maloney converted all four of the technical foul shots, and Penn never looked back. Jerome Allen began to assert himself offensively in the second half, scoring 11 points. Entering the game he needed just 16 points to reach 1,000 for his career, and he scored exactly that many. "It's something you have to cherish," he said. "I thank coach Dunphy for letting me take the shots I needed to reach 1,000 points in three years." The Brown game Saturday figured to be a closer match, and for much of the first half it was, thanks to the torrid shooting of Bear sophomore forward Brian Lloyd. Lloyd scored 15 of Brown's 26 first-half points, and seemed to hit key three-pointers nearly every time Penn threatened to widen its lead. For their part, the Quakers struggled a bit offensively in the first half. After opening the game shooting 5 for 8, Penn missed nine of its next 11 shots. At one point midway through the half, the Quakers went nearly four minutes without scoring. Trice had six first-half rebounds and eight points to help steady the Quakers. Penn also got eight points from sophomore forward Tim Krug off the bench, and managed a 10-point lead at the intermission, 36-26. As they have done all year long, the Quakers put the game away in the first few minutes of the second half with their defense. On the Bears' first possession, Penn forced an airball as the shot clock was expiring. The next time down, junior center Eric Moore blocked James Joseph's shot, got a layup at the other end and was fouled. "I think the pace of the game changed," Dunphy said. "They seemed to run a lot of clock in the second half, and at the end of the shot clock, weren't coming up. "I thought our defense was pretty patient, so at the end of the shot clock they didn't get a lot of good looks at the basket." Penn did a better job on Lloyd as well. The only Brown player to score in double figures was held to just six second-half points, and the entire Brown squad managed just 17 points. "Basically, I just tried to make him work as hard as possible," Allen said of Lloyd. "He can shoot the ball very well. I tried to stay with him when he moved to the ball and played without it." Offensively, Penn had a balanced effort. Five Quakers scored at least nine points, including 12 from Krug and nine from senior forward Andy Baratta off the bench. Penn continued to extend its lead in the second half, achieving its largest margin, 27 points, with the final score. Penn's victories over Yale and Brown made up what was perhaps its most impressive Ivy weekend of the season. And as the Quakers look to perfect their act and take the show on the road next month, it couldn't have come at a better time.