A FRONT ROW VIEW: It could have been truly spectacular

The lights will be out at the Palestra tomorrow night. There will be no band playing. Not a sound will be heard. In that respect it will be much like the moments after Penn lost to Canisius last night. Take all the emotion leading up to the game and drop it off the roof of High Rise North. That's pretty much what it felt like to lose after the Quakers led by 14 points with 8 minutes, 10 seconds remaining. This was a big game on many levels. It's senior year for five players who have lofty ambitions. It was an opportunity to make a statement to pollsters. It was an opportunity to be on ESPN. Students camped out five nights for season tickets for those reasons. Against Canisius, they didn't end up sitting in those seats until the game was over, and the loss and the shock were sinking in. By the Canisius bench, guard Javone Moore was rolling around on the floor. This was a huge win for a program which failed to make the NCAA tournament last year. The Golden Griffins were upset in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference playoffs, and were bounced from the National Invitation Tournament by eventual-champion Villanova. Canisius rattled off 16 straight wins at one point last season, had four seniors returning, and spent 10 days in Portugal preparing for the 1994-95 campaign. "To me, that spells a team that's pretty much together," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. Dunphy could see the upset coming. He blamed himself for the Quakers' poor shot selection and the loss, Penn's first in 16 games at the Palestra. What could have been? Dick Vitale and the ESPN crew coming to the Palestra tomorrow night because George Washington beat Syracuse in overtime. This was supposed to be a big weekend. Tomorrow night the basketball team was to play at Syracuse on ESPN in Round 2. The following day, the road trippers would head to Cornell in what figured to be a huge game for the Ivy football title. Well, the Big Red collapsed too, so call your travel agent and cancel the reservations. "It's a little disappointing," Penn guard Jerome Allen said. "But that's how the game of life is." The toughest part of all this will be the wait. Penn next plays at Lehigh Nov. 28. "I don't think they're going to want to be around me too much for 12 days," Dunphy said. "At this point, we've got some growing to do." What will be? Dunphy said his team could take this loss as a positive or it could fold. This team will not collapse, although there is a huge dose of reality to keep in mind when fantasizing about games against Michigan, Massachusetts, Villanova and Temple. "This is either going to be the best thing that ever could have happened to us or we're in for a struggle," Dunphy said. "And I hope it's the former." Adam Rubin is a Wharton senior from Bellmore, N.Y., and sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian.