GUEST COMMENTARY: Penn should never have been in losing situation

In such a successful program, one that coincidentally was smack in the middle of celebrating its centennial season, the outcome visibly stung the pride of the players. After the upset, Penn coach Fran Dunphy boiled with pent-up frustration, mostly at things over which he had little control. Two hours before, no one could have fathomed a home loss to the Elis, who came into the game 1-8 in Ivy League play after rolling over and playing dead for Princeton the night before. The game was supposed to be the finale of the celebration of 100 years of Quakers basketball. Now the question on the minds of all the Penn players, coaches and faithful is: "How could this happen?" From the Penn perspective, the loss could very neatly be blamed on the officials. Freshman Geoff Owens, whose long arms have become a favorite target of officials everywhere, has to wonder when he will get a call in the Ivy League. Just four minutes into the second half, he was tossed across the lane by Yale's center Emerson Whitley -- for which the official signaled a holding foul against Owens. It was, however, the two crucial fouls in the final 1.5 seconds that most peeved the Quakers. Yale's Gabe Hunterton capitalized on a questionable pushing foul against Penn senior Jamie Lyren, by hitting both ends of the one-and-one. Hunterton's free throws provided the first lead change of the second half, and ultimately the difference. The call against Lyren was preceded by an offensive foul call against none other than? Geoff Owens, who was twisting his way to a lay-up after a feed from point guard Michael Jordan. After the upset, Dunphy politely murmured his displeasure with the refereeing. "I thought Geoff [Owens] got fouled as opposed to a charging call? I don't think you make that call [against Jamie Lyren] at that point in the game," he said. "Everything went against us. If I cry about it, that's what it sounds like." The Quakers traditionally have had trouble with the Bulldogs, who gave Penn one of their two regular season Ivy losses last season, but not at the Palestra. Penn has better talent, but on Saturday, they played at Yale's level. A slow start, mirroring the start the night before against Brown, dragged on until the Hunterton tied the game on a long three-pointer with just 14.2 seconds to play. "I like to think we can survive, but we can't make every game into a very difficult game for us," Dunphy said. His decision not to call a timeout after Hunterton's tying shot did not look bad as Jordan penetrated and dished to Owens. After the episode of debatable fouls, junior guard Garett Kreitz got to show off his quarterbacking arm from his high school days, launching what Romanczuk, the intended recipient, called "a perfect pass." Romanczuk caught it, turned, and simply missed the shot. It looked like just another instance of failed execution in the final moments of a game. But, for the Quakers fan on the sideline, the fact is that the game should not have been that close, and it should not have come down to one shot.