NIT-mare on 33rd Street

Canisius comes back to topple Quakers, 81-78 It was supposed to be a festive send-off to Syracuse, the first step toward an Associated Press Top 25 ranking, and a coming-out party for Ira Bowman. For 32 minutes it was. Then reality kicked the Quakers right in the shins. Hard. Reality came dressed as the Canisius Golden Griffins. The Griffs dampened the expectations and the hype by rallying from 14 points down for an 81-78 first-round Preseason National Invitation Tournament win in front of 3,511 stunned witnesses who wondered if it was really happening. Yes, it was. Matt Maloney's desperation shot bounced off the rim, the buzzer blared and the scoreboard read Canisius 81, Penn 78. And then the Griffins (1-0) started doing the partying. Ryan Collins jumped around madly. Michael Meeks and Javone Moore rolled around gleefully on the Palestra floor. The Quakers (0-1) were left with only a bitter aftertaste. Now they must wait 12 days to wash it out. They will keep it in perspective, as Jerome Allen economically, but eloquently explained: "It's a little disappointing. But that's how the game of life is." It will be a long 12 days. Twelve days to untangle what went wrong in those final eight minutes when Canisius gallantly bombed its way back. Twelve days to wonder how Chris Young, the fourth best three-point marksman in the country last year, was left open for clutch three-pointers in the final minutes. And Canisius indeed won this game more than Penn lost it. This was no sucker-punch. Canisius ventured into a college basketball graveyard, and escaped by shooting 68 percent in the second half, and by taking every alley-oop and baseline slam dunk Penn had to offer and refusing to surrender. Canisius made its charge late in the game, but the Griffs established a pattern early that they would not go away. Penn scored the first five points of the game, Canisius countered with nine. Penn grabbed a 24-14 lead, Canisius narrowed it to 26-23. Matt Maloney threw Jerome Allen a perfect alley-oop to stretch Penn's lead to 45-40, and Darrel Barley answered with a running jumper. Then suddenly, the Griffins had no answer for Ira Bowman. Bowman is more lithe and flashy than Barry Pierce, his predecessor. Dunphy nonetheless called an inbounds play for Bowman that used to be a Pierce specialty. Bowman caught the ball near the hoop in mid-air and shot it in one motion. Score the basket, and the foul. The next time down the floor, Bowman drove the left baseline for a dunk. Bowman capped this impressive stretch by hitting two free throws and Penn's lead hit 67-53, The Quakers looked as if they had finally shaken Canisius. Less than five minutes later, Canisius tied the game. Somewhere along the way, and it is hard to tell where, the Quakers lost their concentration, and the Griffs converted some incredible shots. Four different Griffs buried three-pointers during the 19-3 run, including Meeks, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound center. Meeks led the charge. When Allen's running jumper stretched Penn's lead to 70-65, Meeks countered with a three-pointer from the top of the key. He torched the Quakers for a career-high 36 points in total, including 26 in the second half. But it was down the stretch that he was most brilliant. He scored the Griffs final six points, including two free throws with 12 seconds left. After those free throws, Allen dribbled frantically up the court, weaving in and out of traffic. The play called for Allen to penetrate, and then either shoot or dish the ball. But the Griffs blocked Allen's shot from behind. Shawn Trice retrieved the ball, and dribbled to the left corner where he missed a three-point toss. Maloney then grabbed Trice's miss, and ran toward the line for his final desperation heave. In the press conference afterward, Meeks and Wise hummed the ESPN SportsCenter song the Penn band joyously played earlier. For that too, the prime-time exposure, was supposed to be Penn's. Perhaps, though, the Quakers were too ready for prime time. "I sensed some impatience on our team to play this game, and that we were not paying as much attention to detail as possible," Dunphy said. "I think we could have gotten away with it had Canisius not shot the hell out of it in that one stretch. Winning camouflages mistakes, and losing will bring those to the front." The Quakers primary weakness last night was shooting. With the exception of Scott Kegler, nobody shot the ball well. Tim Krug was an awful 1 for 8, and Maloney and Allen combined to hit only 11 of 32. "This is either going to be the best thing that ever could have happened to us or we're in for a struggle," Fran Dunphy said. Twelve long days will answer that question.