Penn seeks repeat of perfection in Ivies

Quakers travel to Cornell, Columbia Just two nights ago, Jerome Allen grabbed hold of the basket on the west end of the Palestra floor and hoisted himself up on top of the rim. The junior guard was the first to start the celebration as the 25th-ranked Penn men's basketball team clinched its second consecutive Ivy title and berth in the NCAA Tournament. But this weekend, the test for the Quakers will be to see if they can come back down to earth after that emotional win over Princeton and put away two feisty Ivy foes in Cornell and Columbia. "I think our kids understand these are some more occasions for us to show we're a good basketball team," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "I hope we'll finish the year with two good wins and go into the NCAA Tournament on a good note." The Quakers will get a little rest before these games commence this weekend. Because of spring break, Penn will not play its usual Friday-Saturday Ivy schedule. Instead, the Quakers will tip off at Cornell's Newman Arena Sunday (WOGL 1210-AM) at an unusually-early 2 p.m. After a hotly-contested contest in the beginning of February at the Palestra between these same two squads, Penn realizes it will be in for a battle. The Quakers were able to contain the majority of the Big Red attack last time, however senior forward Justin Treadwell, who leads the Ivies with an average of 16.3 points per game, almost singlehandedly carried Cornell to victory as he paced the attack with 28 points. Treadwell scored from all over the court. In the second half, he scored 19 of the Big Red's first 21 points after the break. He laid it in on fast breaks, drilled short jumpers, crashed the offensive boards and tipped the ball in, and even took it outside and sunk floating bombs from long distance. "We must defend him better than we did last time," Dunphy said. "He's one of the better players in the league. I don't know if we can stop him, but I hope we can control him this time." This task will be left up to the big-man rotation of senior Andy Baratta, juniors Shawn Trice and Eric Moore, and sophomore Tim Krug. The most interesting aspect will be to see if Moore, who effectively shut down Princeton scoring machine Rick Hielscher Wednesday, can continue his stifling defense in Ithaca. Whichever big man does not find himself lucky enough to guard Treadwell will still have his hands full with the rest of the Big Red frontcourt, which crashes the boards with reckless abandon. Treadwell, along with senior forward Zeke Marshall (6.9 rebounds per game) and junior Brian Kopf (5.6), lead the Cornell rebounding attack. This could present a problem for the Quakers, who have routinely been outrebounded in their last several contests. After this duel with Treadwell and his crew, Penn will continue its quest for its second consecutive perfect Ivy season. The Quakers will conclude their season with a final stop in the Big Apple, at Columbia's Levien Gym Monday evening (7:30 p.m., WOGL 1210-AM). The last time these teams met, they were tied at the Palestra with just three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. The Quakers, however, exploded in those final moments prior to the break and went on a 13-4 run that continued into the second stanza to grasp control of the game for good. In that contest, budding Columbia freshman C.J. Thompkins exploded for 18 points as he consistently drove past Allen, who was nursing a sore shoulder at the time. Thompkins, who appeared to be on the verge of Ivy greatness, has struggled since that coming out game. "I have to give him credit, he's a pretty good athlete," Dunphy said. "But he hasn't been quite the same since that game. I hope we can contain him a little bit and just play better defense." Even if the Lions don't find a great deal of support from Thompkins, they most likely will try to get the ball inside to their leading scorer. Senior forward Jamal Adams (12.7 ppg, 8.3 rebounds) has paced Columbia throughout the season and has tried to help the young club mature. "We're going to use a help defense on Adams," Dunphy said, referring to the extra attention the Lions' leading scorer will draw. "We'll try to make him pick up his dribble. We have to play aggressive defense." And in order for the Quakers to continue their quest to repeat as undefeated Ivy League champions, they will need to get support from their perimeter players on the offensive end of the floor. Allen, who shot an abysmal 1 for 12 against Princeton, especially will need to pick up his offense. "Jerome struggled against Princeton," Dunphy said. "But I think you have to give a lot of credit to the Princeton defense." The real story will be senior forward Barry Pierce, who will be playing in his final regular-season games of his collegiate career, and in the process should break into Penn's all-time top 15 career scorers. Pierce, who has already scored 1,182 points while wearing the Red and Blue, needs to add just six more points to pass Jeff Neuman on the all-time scoring list. And with so much riding on these games, there is no better time for the Quaker captain, who has played in every game of his four-year collegiate career, to lead Penn into the Big Dance. This is the time for Pierce to make sure everyone returns to earth in time for these final two games.