M. Hoops eats Lehigh for dinner

Nate Allison lays in a missed Mike Dzik three-point attempt to break the 100-point barrier. Most 42-point victories are completed in front of empty seats. But none of the 2,756 at the Palestra was leaving early. Instead they were up and chanting, imploring Penn's second-string players, who rarely see game time, to fulfill their hoops dreams -- score 100 points and turn everyone's ticket stub into a free cheesesteak from Abner's. And they did. With one second left, reserve guard Nate Allison followed up a missed Mike Dzik three-pointer and became the most popular man in the building, despite playing only the final three minutes of Penn's 100-58 cakewalk over Lehigh. "I don't want to ever get in a situation where you're forcing things to get culinary satisfaction," a sheepish Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "When you get kids in the game late, they deserve the opportunity to do the best they can. It's a little embarrassing." In danger of being overlooked because of cheesesteak euphoria and tomorrow's Big 5 contest with Villanova, is the masterful performance Penn (2-0) gave Saturday night. The Quakers excelled in all facets and simply outclassed the Engineers (0-6). Penn opened strongly, scoring the first seven points on a three-pointer from freshman guard Matt Langel, and layups from Paul Romanczuk and Jamie Lyren. The Lehigh coaching staff broke with convention and chose not to call a timeout to slow the assault, thinking that their young team might panic in reaction. It did not make much difference. By the first official's timeout with 13:46 left in the opening half, Penn was up 17-5 and the game was in little doubt. "I thought we were better at executing our offense than we were against Towson [Tuesday night]," Dunphy said. "I also thought our defense created some turnovers that led to easy baskets early on in the game." Penn's offense once again centered on the guards. Langel, Kreitz and Michael Jordan combined for 56 points and collectively shot 12-for-16 from three-point land. Lyren, Dzik and Allison each added treys for a team total of 15, besting the school record of 14 set December 18, 1993, against Haverford. Jordan led all scorers with 20 points. "We have a few key scorers," said Kreitz, who had 18 points, including a four-point play late in the first half. "It just so happens that I shot the ball well and ended up with some points." Lehigh was as confused on offense as Penn was fluid. The Engineers, who start two freshmen and three sophomores, combined cold shooting (21-for-66 from the floor) with key turnovers early. The visitors were also unable to get leading scorer Brett Eppehimer (18 points per game) on track, as he was held just 10 by tenacious defense from Lyren and Jordan. To compound matters, Lehigh was unable to capitalize on Penn's relative lack of height, owing to their own short stature. The Quakers earned a 45-38 rebounding edge. "It was a very disappointing game for us in that I didn't think we really came to play," first-year Lehigh coach Sal Mentesana said. "I guess we softened them up for Villanova." With a comfortable 53-22 halftime edge, Dunphy turned to his bench. All 15 Quakers saw action in the second half. It was a largely unknown group of Dzik, Allison, Mike Sullivan, Jeff Goldstein and Michael Koller that delivered the much-anticipated 100th point. Allison intentionally reached in on Lehigh's Steve Aylsworth to stop the clock with seven ticks left and Penn up by 42 points. Aylsworth rounded out the scoring for Lehigh by making both ends of the one-and-one. Dzik pushed the ball down the court and pulled up for a three just left of the top of the key. His shot was off, but a leaping Allison was there for the put-back. Mentesana voiced no objection to the Quakers seemingly running-up the score. "No, no, not at all. In fact, I've known Fran [Dunphy] a long time. I know what kind of guy he is. That could have been worse. I thought he was very good to us and I want to thank him for that. "These [Penn students] are here to see some entertainment and some excitement." And for the free food.