Penn starts Ivy League season with 2 victories

HANOVER, N.H. -- For the Penn men's basketball team, the road to the Final Four does not lead through Michigan's Crisler Arena, Madison Square Garden or the Mullins Center in Amherst. To make a return to March Madness for the third consecutive season, the Quakers' most important contests are going to come in dank gymnasiums like the Briggs Athletic Center in Cambridge and Dartmouth's Leede Arena. The Quakers posted wins over Michigan and St. John's and ascended as high as No. 21 in the national rankings before losing at UMass Saturday night. They have been continuously spotlighted in the national media. But Penn still understands the importance of league play. In routing Harvard (3-9 overall, 1-1 Ivy League) and Dartmouth (4-8, 1-2) by 90-63 and 85-70 scores respectively last weekend, Penn set a new Ivy League record with 31 consecutive conference victories. The previous record of 30 was set by the 1969-72 Quakers under the guidance of coaching legends Dick Harter and Chuck Daly. "It will mean a lot more later on in life, but right now we're just kind of 2-0 for the season in the league," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "Being a part of history is important, and this is a great program in terms of history and tradition, so I'm happy to be a part of that." The Quakers (8-1, 2-0) last lost an Ivy contest March 6, 1992 at Columbia when four of Penn's current starters were all freshmen. The other senior starter, guard Matt Maloney, has never lost an Ivy game after transferring to Penn for his sophomore season. Although Maloney and backcourt mate Jerome Allen played well in both games, the true stars for the Quakers were somewhat unlikely. Senior center Eric Moore led Penn in Cambridge with 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting. Moore's solid frontcourt play gave the Penn attack a balance the Crimson could not contain. In addition to Moore up front, Shawn Trice poured in 11 points, Ira Bowman scored 12 and Tim Krug added 9. "We played more as a team than almost any night we've played," Moore said. "We were passing really well and everyone was playing together." This balance led to excellent shot selection for the Quakers and better than 60 percent shooting for the evening. The following night in Hanover, junior forward Scott Kegler took over the role of marksman from Moore. Kegler made seven of nine three-pointers en route to a career high 26 points and seven rebounds. One of Kegler's misses actually came on a desperation attempt at the end of the first half. "Scott actually came up a little bit short of my expectations," Dunphy said unable to keep a slight grin off his face. "Coming into the game I thought he might make 10 threes. We always need somebody to step up on the second night of Ivy weekends and Scott was that guy. I'm really happy for him." Allen and Maloney, Kegler's backcourt mates, combined for 28 points and 10 assists and, according to Dunphy, did an excellent job finding Kegler all night. In overcoming a fired-up Big Green squad that had knocked off Princeton the night before, the Quakers used not only a barrage of long-distance shooting but tenacious defense and several thunderous dunks from Bowman in transition. One such slam came off a Krug swat that bounced off the backboard so hard it ignited the fast break. That one-handed slam extended Penn's lead to 61-42, silencing a noisy Big Green crowd and putting the game out of reach. Krug's block was one of eight for the Quakers during the game. Penn also had 10 steals and forced 21 turnovers in all. "Penn did an excellent job pressuring the ball to get us out of our offensive sets," Dartmouth coach Dave Foucher said. "They disrupted our reads and did a good job denying entry. All the blocked shots really prevented us from making a run at a critical juncture of the ballgame." The Big Green, led by forward Jamie Halligan's 24 points, did stay close for a while. Consecutive three-pointers from last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year Sea Lonergan cut Penn's lead to five with 6 minutes, 49 seconds left in the first half. From that juncture Kegler and Krug accounted for 14 points before the half, extending Penn's lead to 48-34 at intermission. The Quakers were never seriously challenged again. "We focused too much on Matt and Jerome, and Kegler won the game for them," Lonergan said. "Playing a nationally ranked team like Penn in your own building is the kind of thing you dream about." Although driving seven hours to New Hampshire is not the kind of glamorous road trip Penn dreams about, the Quakers understand the importance of the Ivy League. The record is at 31 and counting. A third consecutive perfect Ivy League season would make it 43 by season's end, but Dunphy and the Quakers know better than to look ahead. -- Adam Rubin contributed to this story.