M. Hoops 'bench' press New England Ivies

M. Hoops is on cruise control as Penn sophomore Matt Langel nets a career-high 32 versus Harvard. BOSTON, Mass.-- Penn traveled to Harvard and Dartmouth with winning on their mind and bandages on their collective bodies. The injury theme carried on through the weekend, as Matt Langel returned Friday and Paul Romanczuk came down with a hurting wrist on Saturday. "He's not allowed to get hurt," Dunphy said of Romanczuk. "We have enough injuries, he's not allowed." But the story was not the injured Quakers, but Langel's (46 weekend points) return from injury as Penn (10-9, 4-1 Ivy League) defeated Harvard (9-9, 3-4) by a score of 84-69, and Dartmouth (6-14, 3-5) 71-57. Without the services of junior forward Jed Ryan, Penn coach Fran Dunphy was forced to work a nine-man rotation against the Crimson. The 6'7" Ryan broke his right pinky finger Thursday in practice. Penn coach Fran Dunphy brought in sparingly-used co-captain Jeff Goldstein as the first man off the bench. Lamar Plummer (10 points) and George Mboya (five rebounds) also made valuable contributions of the bench. "That is something that coach has decided to do a little bit, and I think it helps get the whole team involved in the game," Langel said. Langel's return gave the Quakers desperately-needed offense to a team lacking inside presence. The Quakers came out slow, falling behind 13-5 in the first 2:35. Behind the offense of Penn point guard Michael Jordan and solid play from the bench, the Quakers ran off a 13-2 run to take the lead with 1:25 left in the first stanza. "Mike's an outstanding player. To be honest with you, I want more from him, and I think he wants more from himself," Dunphy said. "I think it's a great challenge for him to play Hill." The Crimson, without key freshman Dan Clemente, keyed off of the play of juniors Tim Hill (21 pts.) and Paul Fisher (13 pts., 10 rebs.). Hill sought to personally take the game in hand. With the Crimson down five late in the half, the 5'11" guard pulled up for a long three -- and drained it with a friendly bounce off the top of the glass. The Crimson finished the half with a 42-41 lead. The second half opened with a barrage of jumpers by the Quakers guards. Led by Langel and Jordan, Penn ran off 12-2 run to open the half, taking a 53-44 lead. "Matt Langel is only in his second year, but he played some tough situations," Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. "They're three-point shooting, just like it has gotten us over the hump sometimes this year, it got them over the hump." Penn never looked back as the Quakers outside shooting took over. Down the stretch, Langel, the Moorestown, N.J., native, scorched the nylon. "I was kind of surprised my wind felt pretty good," Langel said. "I worked pretty hard on the bike. But my leg got a little tired." In the second half alone, Langel drained four treys en route to his career-high 32 points. While the sophomore's leg may have been weary, his jump shot showed no signs of rust. "I shot a lot of free throws," Langel said. "I worked a lot with coach Jackson, coach Donohue, for a half hour a couple times a day." Dunphy's battered corp found a way to win with a large rotation and the heroics of a sophomore. "Obviously we would have loved to have had him for the last three games,"Dunphy said. "He really came through and gave us a tremendous performance." Saturday night at Dartmouth, the Quakers opened the game with a similar look. The nine man rotation remained in place, with eight men seeing double digit minutes. Langel (14 pts.) was not the only story though; balance was key, with four Quakers in double digits. Senior Garret Kreitz, who scored only seven points Friday, was one high man with 18 pts., along with Paul Romanczuk. The Quakers were unable to blow away the Big Green as quickly as Princeton had the night before. The Quakers made a run to get out in front by nine with 10 minutes gone in the half. Dartmouth's only answer was Gee. The 6'7" sophomore dropped his ninth point with 9:13 left in the half to get Dartmouth back within 10. The Big Green could not close the gap anymore in the next 10 minutes, despite the efforts of Big Green guard P.J. Halas. Halas, who was shut down the previous night in a 71-39 loss to Princeton, played with something to prove. "My first shot was a two that went up and felt good, it just rimmed out," Halas said. "I thought I'd just see what happens next time. [Coach] said if you want it, shoot it." Halas hit trey's within 50 seconds of each other and closed the gap to nine. But he could get it no closer, as the teams went to half with Penn up 37-27. The Quakers came out of the Leede Arena locker rooms with a cooler shooting touch. Dropping from 46.7 percent to just 20 percent in the second half, Penn's shooting woes cracked the door just enough for Dartmouth to creep back. The Big Green slowly ate away at the Quakers lead, again behind the heroics of Halas. This time he drained two clutch three just 37 seconds apart, putting Dartmouth within three. Behind the play of Romanczuk, and the night's leading rebounder George Mboya (7 rebs.), the Quakers pushed the lead back to 11 with under 10 minutes to go. Dartmouth's last push was squandered by the weekend hero. After the 6'1" giant Halas made his last three of the game, Langel found his stroke, and five quick points to extend the Quakers lead to 11. The Big Green could not find a way back as the Quakers won the free shooting contest in the final two minutes and pulled out to a 71-57 victory. The Ivy weekend sweep puts the Quakers alone at second place in the league.