Bryant finishes Quakers at the Palestra

When La Salle's Glenn Collier converted a steal into a breakaway layup with 7:38 left in Saturday night's Penn-LaSalle tilt, he gave the Explorers their first lead in the contest, 60-59. Fifty-two seconds later, Penn's John Beecroft stuck in a 20-footer to regain the lead for the Quakers. The only other time LaSalle had the upper hand in the game was with five seconds remaining, when Joe Bryant took a pass on the baseline, pivoted around an off-balance Henry Johnson, and deposited a five-foot jumper cleanly through the net. So it was that the Quakers (9-4) dropped a heart-seizing, heart-breaking 67-65 decision to the 11th-ranked Explorers (14-1), in a contest in which they led or were tied for the lead 39 of the 40 minutes. The loss broke Penn's 12-game City Series win streak, and in all probability will cost them their sixth consecutive Philadelphia title. They are now 1-1 in city play, to La Salle's 2-0. Of more vital importance, however, to the Quakers' future, is the loss of forward John Engles. Engles, driving to the basket with the Quakers leading by 54-49 with 11:24 left, collided with La Salle's Charlie Wise. He had to be helped off the court on his teammates' shoulders. The current report from HUP, where Engles spent Saturday and Sunday nights, is sketchy. The diagnosis of Engles' right knee is incomplete and, according to the medical news officer, it is unlikely doctors will learn by today whether Engles will be able to suit up again this season. With Larry Lewis also gone, the Quakers are now down to five front-courtmen. "Engles' loss was quite significant," La Salle coach Paul Westhead pointed out afterward. "Anytime you lose a John Engles, you know its got to hurt. You just can't replace his rebounding." When Engles left, coach Chuck Daly went to a three-guard offense of John Beecroft, Ed Stefanski and Mark Lonetto. Bob Bigelow, who Daly praised later for his strong rebounding -- he led the Quakers with 14 -- hit twice to put the Red and Blue out in front by six, 59-53. La Salle ripped off seven straight points, however, to grab the lead, 60-59. Beecroft and Bigelow retaliated for the Quakers, but Bryant followed up an Explorer miss for a three-point play, knotting the count at 63 with 5:16 remaining. From this point until the final buzzer, an important strategic factor was the non existence of the 30-second shot clock, which broke down with 8:23 left in the first half. When the Palestra electrician proved unable to rise to the occasion, Westhead and Daly agreed to play without the available backup system. The next time down the court, the Quakers worked more deliberately, passing the ball around the horn and finally in to Johnson, who threw in a short turnaround to give Penn its last advantage, 65-63, at 3:50. Bryant, who finished with 25 points, was then called for an offensive foul, his fourth, but the Quakers missed the opportunity. Instead of the Explorers losing their big man, though, the Quakers proceeded to lose theirs. Ron Haigler, who had 16 points at the half but only added four in the second stanza, committed two personals within 20 seconds, disqualifying himself with 2:57 left. Jim Wolkiewicz sank two from the line producing the game's fourth and final deadlock, at 65. Haigler's departure forced Daly to again go to the three-guard format. Penn continued to slow down the pace, until with 2:11 remaining, Stefanski drove the left baseline and was held by Wise. Stefanski's foul shot bounced off the front rim, for the sixth -- and costliest -- miss in nine Quaker free throw attempts. Bryant rebounded for the Explorers, and the Quakers didn't get the ball back again until it was too late. "We planned to go to the four-corner offense, and hold the ball to 25 seconds," Westhead revealed. "We went to the 'rainbow' offense, with Bryant in the low post, and had him shoot at seven seconds. Everything went right on target." "It's an interesting theory, what might have happened (had the shot clock not broken down)," Daly offered glumly, "but it still goes down as an L."