Not this time, Pete

Penn outplays Carril'sPenn outplays Carril'sTigers for the secondPenn outplays Carril'sTigers for the secondtime this season, earnsPenn outplays Carril'sTigers for the secondtime this season, earnsshare of Ivy League title Let's play three. Ernie Banks would love this Ivy League men's basketball season. Penn's 63-49 victory over Princeton last night -- the Quakers' second decisive win over the Tigers this year -- ensured that the Ancient Eight regular season would end with the two schools tied atop the standings. Officially, Penn (17-9, 12-2 Ivy League) and Princeton (20-6, 12-2) will go down in the books as co-champs. But the unofficial and undisputed champion -- the one everyone will remember, the one that plays in the NCAA tournament -- will be determined Saturday night (7:30 p.m.) at Lehigh University's Stabler Arena, when the Quakers and Tigers will do battle for the third time in a one-game playoff. "We knew that we couldn't falter much," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said of last night's game. "I think there's a sense of urgency about them. They understand their job and their goal, and hopefully we'll finish it on Saturday. It's certainly going to be a difficult task." Yesterday's game did not look too difficult for the Quakers, especially when compared to some of the squeakers they've been through, including a 57-55 victory at Princeton in January. Penn held a 10-point lead at halftime and more or less preserved it the rest of the game. The Tigers never got closer than eight points in the second half. "By halftime we were down 10, and it was an uphill battle the whole way in the second half," said Princeton center Steve Goodrich. "We never put a run together." "A good start by us was very key," Dunphy said. "I thought we responded to that." In truth, both teams played well in the early going, each shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half. And for at least the first 15 minutes, they fulfilled the expectations of all 8,700 rabid Palestra fans for a thrilling contest. There were three ties and three lead changes early in the first half, and neither team was ahead by more than three points until Quakers guard Donald Moxley drained a 12-footer from the left baseline to put Penn up 22-17 with 5 minutes, 40 seconds left in the half. But Tigers forward Mitch Henderson scored a layup with 5:00 left to pull Princeton within three again. It looked as if the rest of the half would be nip and tuck. But then Frank Brown took over. Well, perhaps he didn't quite take over. But the first-year swingman did spark a run that increased the Penn lead for good. Brown had already come in for senior Ira Bowman and scored on an offensive rebound and follow. Now he nailed a three-pointer from the right corner to put the Quakers up by six. And with 3:05 left, he hit a jumper that made the score 29-22, Penn. "Frank saved us in the first half a little bit because we were struggling a little bit to score," Dunphy said. Four Bowman free throws pushed Penn's lead to 11 before a Henderson free throw made it 33-23 at half. The Quakers had outscored the Tigers 15-6 over the last 6:34 of the half. There was more bad news for Princeton. It made just one three-pointer in the first half and would make only one more in the second. By game's end, only two Tigers would reach double figures in scoring -- Goodrich with 26 and Henderson with 10. "We played very well," Dunphy said. "Obviously when you look at the statistics and you see what Steve Goodrich did, we certainly didn't defend him well. But the other perimeter players I thought we did a real nice job and limited them. "I don't know if we can play a whole lot better defensively." Goodrich was Princeton's only source of offense. Amazingly, he scored the Tigers' first 14 points of the second half. He repeatedly got open underneath the basket for easy layups and short hook shots. Unfortunately for Princeton coach Pete Carril, such individual brilliance was not what he needed. "I would like to have seen him score in a more natural way than he did," Carril said. "At the end there, when you start going to hi like that, then they start doubling, and that throws the whole things off." Indeed, while Goodrich was scoring 14 straight points, the Penn lead remained in double figures. The Tigers never got close, and unlike the first meeting between these two teams, the Quakers made their free throws. Penn hit 24 of 35 shots from the line, led by Bowman's 10-of-12 effort. Moxley hit eight of his 10 charity tosses on his way to a team-high 16 points. So now both teams must do it all over again, just three days from now. "We're both 12-2," said Quakers center Tim Krug. "They have an opportunity now they haven't had for the past four years. They're going to want it just as much as we do, maybe even more. We're just going to have to come out and play even harder."