THE END OF AN ERA: Tide rolls in OT, 91-85

BALTIMORE -- The Penn men's basketball team gave its heart last night, but Antonio McDyess gave a career performance. McDyess set a scoring record for an Alabama player in an NCAA Tournament game with 39 points, to go with 19 rebounds, as the fifth-seeded Crimson Tide bounced the Quakers from the first round, 91-85 in overtime, at Baltimore Arena. Alabama (23-9) advances to the second round tomorrow, where it will face Oklahoma State, a 73-49 winner over Drexel in the nightcap of last night's evening session. The Quakers' loss ends the careers of the most celebrated class in Pennsylvania basketball history. Coach Fran Dunphy now must part company with seniors Jerome Allen, Matt Maloney, Scott Kegler, Eric Moore and Shawn Trice. Penn (22-6) went down fighting, though. Trailing 57-46 after Tide forward Jason Caffey's layup with 9 minutes, 32 seconds left, Dunphy called timeout. Allen returned from the break to drain a trey. Penn went on an 21-10 run to close regulation and force overtime. "That's the spirit, the determination of this group," Dunphy said. "They're just an extraordinary group of kids and they weren't going to go down quietly." Immediately after the timeout, the Quakers rattled off 11 straight points to knot the game at 57. The teams traded the lead for the remainder of regulation. The Tide was up two when Caffey (11 points, seven rebounds) missed a three-pointer. At the other end, Maloney gave the ball to junior forward Tim Krug (12 points), who faked a three-pointer, again got his man in the air, then passed to Ira Bowman (15 points). McDyess fouled him, and Bowman, who looked shaky earlier at the line, hit both free throws. The game was tied again, this time at 65 with 1:23 left. Tide forward Jamal Faulkner (nine points, 12 rebounds), deep under the basket, found McDyess, who laid the ball in to give Alabama a 67-65 lead. On the other end, Bowman again did not crack under pressure. He rebounded an Allen miss, went up for the shot and was fouled by Artie Griffin. Bowman hit the front rim on the first shot but the ball went in. The second shot was a swish and the game was tied at 67. Griffin took the ball, ran the clock down and found McDyess. Trice again defended well and the deep turnaround missed. Faulkner got the rebound over Bowman. The Tide held for the last shot, which Marvin Orange (14 points, six assists) missed from just to the left of the top of the circle. The Quakers fell apart early in overtime. The Tide scored the first 11 points of the extra session, leaving Penn no choice but to foul. The Quakers got within three points rallying behind a valiant effort from Allen. He hit a three-pointer with 23 seconds left to make it 88-82, then stole a pass and hit another trey five seconds later. Penn still trailed 88-85. "He's a heck of a player, and I think he's got the ability to play at the next level," Alabama coach David Hobbs said of Allen. "He's a fiery guy. He's an infectious kind of leader. He busts his tail the whole game. He can shoot the ball from the outside. He can put it on the floor. He can defend you. We haven't faced many guards as good as Jerome Allen." But the Quakers' good fortune ran out. Bryan Passink hit the second of two free throws at the other end to ice the Tide victory. "I don't think there's ever a time in the game when you're saying you're not going to come back," Maloney said. "But it's difficult to come back. You're down nine. There's not much time." Alabama opened up as big as a six-point advantage before the break, but the Quakers whittled away at that lead. A Maloney three-pointer that immediately followed a McDyess thunderous dunk at the other end pulled Penn to within one point, 37-36. Then Faulkner missed a turnaround jumper and Bowman got the rebound. Allen held for the final shot of the half. His driving layup bounced off the rim and Faulkner got the rebound. But Bowman stole the ball and laid it in as the first half expired and the Quakers led 38-37 at the break. Yet, for all the emotion Penn poured into the game, it was unable to overcome McDyess' performance.