M. HOOPS NOTEBOOK: M. Hoops dug a big hole for itself against Lehigh

The Penn basketball team did not expect to trail Lehigh by 15 points in the second half Monday. If given a choice, the Quakers certainly would not have chosen such a plight. But it happened. The Engineers had led by seven at the half. It was a larger intermission deficit than Penn faced in 28 games last season. Then the lead grew as the Quakers continued to miss shots from both the floor and the foul line. With less than 15 minutes to play, Lehigh was up by 15, and Penn had backed itself into a corner. But once in that corner, the Quakers were able to scratch and claw their way out. They were relieved to escape Bethlehem with a win, and believe the scare will make them better in the future. "I think it's great to pull out that type of game," senior guard Scott Kegler said. "It should help teach us how to deal with what we're going to face all year. We're now in a position where everyone is going to come after us with nothing to lose, just like Canisius and Lehigh did." If nothing else, this it what the Quakers seem to have learned from their first two games. They are no longer the team with nothing to lose, and every opponent will be gunning for them. Penn has learned things will be even harder -- witness Monday night -- if it continues to dig holes for itself. · The biggest factor in Monday night's hole-digging was a continuation of Penn's offensive woes. Throughout the first half, the Quakers' guards were unable to hit perimeter shots. Senior guards Jerome Allen, Matt Maloney and Kegler were a combined 0-for-12 shooting from behind the three-point line. After watching the game film, coach Fran Dunphy was not especially concerned. "I thought our offensive execution against Lehigh was excellent," he said. "We really had some good looks at the basket in that game, but the shots just weren't going down." Late in the game, the shots did start falling. Maloney hit a pair of threes, one of which tied the game with just over four minutes to play, and finished with 12 points. Kegler also connected twice from downtown, including a critical three-pointer after the Engineers had regained a four-point edge. · The most outstanding heroics belonged to Allen. With just 16 seconds remaining, the Quakers trailed 73-71. Penn called a timeout. What followed was one of those rare moments when a called play works to perfection. "That was a play we drew up," senior center Eric Moore said. "We wanted to get the ball up the court and I was going to set a screen for Jerome. Once Jerome got the ball on the left, it was going to be his choice -- he could either shoot the three or drive for a two." Everything worked perfectly, and Allen chose the two. As the clock ran down, he calmly dribbled and rose up for a seven-foot jumper from the baseline. Nothing but nylon. Just like it was drawn up during the timeout. Once Allen had put the game into overtime, he took the game over. The senior repeatedly slashed into the paint and scored. He posted six of Penn's first seven points and virtually put the game out of Lehigh's reach. Allen ended the game with 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists -- just one assist and two boards short of recording Penn's first-ever triple-double. · Despite his impressive 18-point performance, Moore was one of many Quakers who struggled at the free-throw line Monday. Penn shot a dismal 46.4 percent from the charity stripe, making only 13 of 28 attempts. Even Penn's best free-throw shooter, Maloney, missed two clutch shots at the line in the final two minutes of regulation. "I don't really know what it is," Dunphy said. "They do work on them and hit them in practice. They shouldn't be bothered by the noise and the fans. It's something I wonder about. It's something to talk about with other coaches." · Finally, this odd prediction out of the crystal ball: the score when Penn hosts Ohio State Saturday will be 83-80. That much is clear. Which team will score 83 is unclear. When Penn lost to Canisius to open its season, the score was 81-78. On Monday at Lehigh, the score was 82-79. Logic dictates the score will be 83-80 on Saturday. And the final score last year when Penn played the Buckeyes in Columbus? Ohio State won, 83-80.