Streak at 46 and counting

Quakers hang on to beat Princeton despite struggles from line PRINCETON, N.J. -- It had all the elements of an important college basketball game -- a long rivalry, a legendary coach, an unexpected hero, and a bizarre ending. It was, of course, the Ivy League men's basketball opener between Penn and Princeton at Jadwin Gym on Jan. 6. The Quakers overcame both their own poor foul shooting and the Tigers to earn a 57-55 victory. And although everyone downplayed its significance, Penn extended its record Ivy League winning streak to 44 games. "You put a lot of stock in beating Penn for only one reason -- because that's the team to beat in your league," Princeton head coach Pete Carril said. The narrow margin of victory gives no indication of the superiority Penn demonstrated through the first 39 minutes of play. In fact, with 50 seconds left the score stood at 55-44. The man Penn had most to thank for the lead was Donald Moxley, who scored 17 of his career-high 19 points in the second half. In an eight-minute stretch of the second half, the senior guard -- making the first start of his career -- piled up 12 points, including two three-pointers, as Penn extended its lead to 13 points with 11 minutes remaining. "The way I look at it, the game was decided when that guy Moxley got out of the bag," Carril said. The Quakers were able to maintain a double-digit lead until the final minute despite a long absence of senior swingman Ira Bowman, who was plagued by foul trouble. Then the Tigers showed how quickly a comfortable lead can disappear. With 50 seconds remaining, Tim Krug went to the free throw line to shoot the double bonus and missed both. Nat Graham grabbed the rebound, but stepped out of bounds. He argued the call and was assessed a technical foul. The Tigers' highly-touted freshman guard Brian Earl then made one of two to close the gap to 10. Moxley was quickly fouled. He also missed both free throws. The Tigers raced down the floor and closed to within seven on a trey from Mitch Henderson, who led Princeton with 15 points. After a timeout, Bowman was fouled. He made one of two, but seconds later the home team was within five on a trey from Earl. It was now Nat Graham's turn at the foul line. He failed on both attempts. Once again, Princeton charged downcourt, this time getting a Henderson layup with 8.1 seconds to play. The score stood at 56-53, the closest the game had been since the seven-minute mark of the first half. Princeton sent sophomore guard Garett Kreitz, whose playing time has expanded since Jamie Lyren broke his foot on Dec. 9, to the line. He converted the first, but missed the second. For the last time, Princeton moved in transition. As the final buzzer sounded Chris Doyal layed the ball in to create the final score. As Penn celebrated a tight victory, the officials conferred and determined that Princeton had called a timeout with less than one-tenth of a second remaining. The players returned to the court, and with 0.0 seconds showing on the game clock, Penn inbounded the ball to end the game. It had been a remarkable final minute. The Tigers had cut an 11-point deficit to just two after an 11-2 run. They benefitted from the Quakers 2-for-10 performance from the charity stripe, part of an awful 10-of-28 total during the night. "We kind of shot ourselves in the foot," said Penn head coach Fran Dunphy. "But I'm very proud of our team. I thought we did a great job in all facets." Most of the offensive praise went to Moxley. "Sometimes too much credit goes to me and Ira. Every time you turn around, Don makes great shots," said Krug, who accounted for 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The first half was characterized by a slow, tentative pace that limited scoring. Princeton utilized its traditional system of weave-like passing and intricate back cuts. However, the failure of Henderson and Earl to get on track from outside and Krug's defensive domination of Tigers center Steve Goodrich allowed Penn to build a quiet 22-15 edge at halftime. The Tigers were held scoreless during one seven-minute period and attempted only 15 field goals in the first half. "I'm not sure we can play better defense," Dunphy said. The statistics support Dunphy. Princeton had just four field goals in the opening 20 minutes, while turning the ball over seven times. Three-point shooting, upon which the Tigers rely heavily, was erratic all night. "Seven-for-20 is not good three-point shooting for this team," Carril said. "They guarded us well." The Quakers have defeated Princeton seven consecutive times. But more importantly, Penn won its first game against the Tigers in the post-Jerome era.