GAME ANALYSIS: Owls sunk by threes

The Penn men's basketball team's success from three-point land was a major factor in its win over Temple. The three-point margin of victory for the Penn men's basketball team in its 73-70 overtime win over Temple is quite appropriate, because three-pointers made the difference in the game. One of the main reasons for the upset was that the long-range bombs unleashed by the Quakers eventually spelled doom for coach John Chaney's team. Overall, the Quakers shot 11-for-24 from three-point territory, while Temple only hit 8-of-32, including a 1-for-10 day from downtown by Owls guard Rasheed Brokenborough. The Quakers dropped two shots from beyond the arc early in the overtime period, dealing a blow to Temple's hope of escaping college basketball's most historic arena with a victory. A three-pointer by Michael Jordan for the first score in overtime hit nothing but net to put Penn up 61-58. While Jordan's performance lifted Penn to victory in overtime, other Quakers were not to be outdone in the long distance shootout. Frank Brown -- who had the hottest shooting hand in town against Kansas a week ago -- followed Jordan's trey with one of his own to put the Red and Blue up by six. "[Temple] started out with a turnover, and we had a turnover, then Michael hit a three, and then Frank hit a three," Penn forward Jed Ryan said of the beginning of overtime. "This was big. It was a big stepping stone for us." It was not just in overtime, however, when the Quakers turned to long-range firing to get the job done. The muscular giants that call themselves the Temple frontcourt are not the easiest opponents to score upon down low. Although Geoff Owens and Paul Romanczuk did an admirable job of taking the ball to the hoop during their rare opportunities, Penn needed to hit its outside shots to have a chance to win this game. Matt Langel was well aware of this when he drilled a jumper from a few steps east of 33rd Street to open the scoring 30 seconds into the game. After a weak first half against the Jayhawks last Tuesday, Langel has been hitting almost every shot he takes from downtown. He was 2-for-3 in the second half against Kansas, and picked up right where he left off when the Owls came to the Palestra, shooting 3-for-4 from the promised land. "[Langel] started shooting the ball from 25 feet out," Chaney said. "That's pretty far out." Langel's shooting had him looking like his old self -- the one that finished sixth in the nation last year with a .500 three point shooting percentage. But he was not the only Quaker whose shots were falling from spots around the perimeter. Ryan dropped three of his own, along with a crucial long distance two-pointer in overtime, on his way to 13 points. Brown's hand may have cooled off a bit since the Kansas game, but it was still a few degrees above average, as his trey in overtime helped to silence the Owls. And then there was Jordan. Playing all 45 minutes, the junior point guard connected on four three-pointers for 12 of his team-high 22 points. The Quakers' habit of straying from the basket proved to be a problem for the Owls. Temple -- famous for Chaney's match-up zone defense -- is used to defending against teams that work the ball inside more often. When three-pointers started raining on their heads, however, the Owls were forced to switch their game plan. "A lot of times, they were overplaying and leaving the farthest guy from the ball open," Jordan said. Temple abandoned the match-up and began to defend the Quakers man-to-man in the second half. But it was not enough. The Red and Blue continued to hit from the outside on their way to the win.

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