Allen came through with game on the line

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Penn runs the play countless times in practice. When the Quakers reach game time, it seems like an everyday routine. Jerome Allen lifts a closed fist at halfcourt. He penetrates, the defense collapses, then Allen finds fellow guards Matt Maloney or Scott Kegler spotting up for an open three-pointer. But after Penn had burned Michigan all night with that same play, the Wolverines were not going to let it happen with the game on the line. With the game tied at 60 and 15.3 seconds remaining, Allen brought the ball to midcourt. He didn't have to raise a closed fist -- everyone in Crisler Arena already knew what was coming. But this time, when Allen drove into the lane, the Michigan defenders stayed close to their men. So Allen took the shot himself. After struggling all night, Allen made the game winner. The eight-foot leaner over Jimmy King with 4.4 seconds left gave Penn the 62-60 victory. "I was struggling all night," Allen said. "To actually do something that was positive gave me a good feeling inside. I persevered through tough times." Those tough times almost cost Penn the game. Allen, the Quakers' leading scorer entering Tuesday night, connected on just two of his 10 prior shots. The 80-percent free-throw shooter also missed his one attempt from the charity stripe. His inbounds passes were stolen. He got called for a charging foul. To make matters worse, Allen also turned the ball over five times. The senior captain's troubles did not take place only on the offensive end of the floor. With Penn clinging to a four-point lead with just 55.5 seconds remaining, King took a long three-point attempt. The shot hit the rim and bounced out of the basket. But Allen had fouled King, who went to the line for three shots. After King hit two free throws, Michigan still trailed by two points. The Wolverines again called King's number. He penetrated past Allen and hit the tying layup high off the glass to tie the game at 60. Every mistake Allen made during the first 39 minutes, 55.6 seconds of the game was forgotten with his final shot. "He didn't have a particularly good game," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "But as usual, when those kinds of big shots needed to be taken and made, a kid like him will do it. I'm very thankful that he did." But Allen almost didn't make the shot. As he twisted and turned through the lane and guided the ball toward the basket, not everyone was convinced it was going in. "I didn't think it had a chance of going in," Kegler said. "He turned around, and I didn't think he thought it was going in." Even Allen couldn't explain what he did. "I really can't say what kind of shot it was," he said. "Jump shot? Half hook? Did I throw it up behind my head?" In the end, it doesn't really matter how it went in. All that counts is that it did go in.

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