MARCH 4, 1980: Great Games in Penn History

After losing to Princeton at Jadwin Gym a week earlier, the Quakers won a tiebreaker in Easton, Pa. to clinch their third consecuitve NCAA tournament birth. By Bill Stahl Daily Pennsylvanian Sports Writer EASTON -- Booney Salters' last shot in Ivy League play was definitely his most gratifying shot. The Penn captain swished an 18-foot jumper from the right baseline with 11 seconds left to give the Quakers a thrilling 50-49 victory in last night's championship playoff game in Easton. "I was just thinking Ivy League championship when I put it up," said Salters, who scored a game-high 15 points. "This feeling is now and I feel great." The Quakers got the ball with 31 seconds left after surprising Tigers hot-hand Gary Knapp, a 5-foot-10 guard, banked in an unmolested running one-hander to put the Orange and Black up 49-48. It was the freshman Knapp again who had the opportunity to put Princeton ahead after Salters' clutch bucket. But the foul line jumper by Knapp, who led the Tigers with 14 points, bounded off the back iron to Penn guard Angelo Reynolds as the seconds ticked off the clock and the Quakers fans mobbed the neutral court. "It was very apropos that Booney hit the winning shot," coach Bob Weinhauer, who will make his third trip to the NCAAs in as many years as Penn's head coach. "It is a tribute to him. He has been our leader, our inspiration. "It was about time we got down to the wire, and for a change we saw the damn thing go in the net." When pressed for his opinion of Penn's first round NCAA opponent, Washington State, whom it will meet tomorrow night in West Lafayette, Ind., he replied, "who knows, who cares." The game's last-minute heroics were in the last 4 minutes, 53 seconds. Princeton led 46-44 and was about to inbound the ball after a timeout. But Salters swiped the pass and canned a short spin from the right side. Princeton guard Dave Blatt then missed the back end of a one-and-one, and the Quakers took the lead 48-47 on a layup by Paul Little off a feed from George Noon. But Little, who had completely blanked 10.9-points-per-game scorer Randy Melville, fouled the Tigers star. Melville, who had just six points and five rebounds (as opposed to 15 and 16 at Jadwin last week), blew the free throw. Penn immediately downshifted to a stall. The Quakers spread it out for almost two minutes, but when Reynolds was double-teamed with less than a minute left, he threw a blind pass in the direction of Salters that was intercepted by Blatt. Weinhauer said he was pleased with the way Reynolds "did not hang his head" after that miscue. Without Reynolds' hot shooting in the first half, there might have been a lot of hanging heads in the Penn lockerroom after the game. The 6-2 sophomore, averaging 6.4 ppg, pumped in six buckets in the last five minutes of the half, the last a 20-foot side jumper that gave Penn a 27-25 intermission advantage. "We came down a day early and it helped," Reynolds said. "I was confident on that floor. My first shot was an airball, so they figured they could leave me alone. They were hitting me on the arm every time, but the refs were only watching the shots go in." After blowing an early 10-2 lead, Princeton countered with a loaded gun of its own. Craig Robinson, a freshman sparked the Tigers with eight points and seven rebounds in the first half. "We came out too fast," Salters said. "The ball was shooting out of our hands the first seven minutes. We had to calm down offensively by not running our transition game." The Tigers were thanking their stars for Robinson, because their two top scorers were awful -- repeat, awful -- quiet. Center Rich Simkus, who hit up the Quakers for 20 points in their last meeting, had foul trouble and saw just 18 minutes of floor time. Chalk up two whole points. And Melville had just six points. "It was block city," Little said of his fine coverage of Melville. "On the wings I was overcommitted and when they looked to backdoor I was able to get back. Up high I forced him away from the basket. The best story of the game could have been expressed by the emotions of Tom Flick, who clutched the game ball while lying on his back at half court as the fans counted down. "I was in seventh heaven," Flick said. "I was just on my back and looked at the :00. People thought I was hurt. But we're in the tournament again. Now the young guys know how it feels. What we've done this season is unbelievable." Flick's jubilation was not shared by choked-up Princeton coach Pete Carril. "That guy's been making those shots and beating Princeton for as long as he's been wearing a Penn uniform," he said, red-eyed and chomping on a stogie. You said it, Pete. Salters put it in Princeton's eye one last time.