<br>Jesse Spector: Unlucky streak continues

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- On Saturday night at the Palestra, the Penn men's basketball team poured its heart out in a second-half comeback attempt against nationally-ranked Maryland. On the road against No. 9 Seton Hall yesterday, the odds seemed pretty slim that the Quakers would once again put the fear of an upset into a powerful foe. But for the seventh time this season, Penn was in position to win right up until the end. And for the seventh time this season, Penn walked off the court in defeat. It has been an unlucky seven-game losing streak for the Quakers to open this season. They have lost tough, close games to very tough opponents, and they played out the script perfectly last night. "I believe we're very, very fortunate to come out of that game with a win," Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker said. "Their kids just played their hearts out. You talk about a team that's deceiving in terms of their record and how good that they are, and you can see that they're going to catch a lot of people. They almost caught us." Amaker's words have become a common refrain for Penn's opposing coaches this season. But the repetitively gut-wrenching basketball is beginning to frustrate the Quakers, who will now have to wait 16 days for another shot at victory when Temple comes to the Palestra on December 29. "There's not a lot to say," Penn senior center Geoff Owens said. "We're extremely frustrated, it just seems like were making a lot of the same mistakes down the stretch. We have to learn how to win. It sounds silly, but it's such a big deal." The Quakers' loss last night at the Continental Airlines Arena was indeed eerily reminiscent of past defeats this fall. With 1:04 to go, Ugonna Onyekwe made a brilliant move, hitting a layup and drawing a foul on Seton Hall freshman star Eddie Griffin. Onyekwe's layup tied the game at 78, and he could have put the Red and Blue in the lead by converting the three-point play. He didn't. Onyekwe was 3-for-7 from the free-throw line, and the Quakers hit just 9-of-20 free throws on the night. "Our foul shooting let us down," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. The Quakers did not score again after Onyekwe's miss. They had a chance, inbounding the ball with 21.7 seconds left and the score tied. Charlie Copp's travel against La Salle in the final minute was crucial to the Explorers' comeback last week. His turnover last night set up Seton Hall's winning possession. "We made some silly mistakes down the stretch," said Owens, who fouled out with 4:42 remaining in the game. "I think hopefully I'd be able to prevent that, being a senior who's been through it before, and this is the third time that I've had to watch a close game end from the bench. That's not good." For the seventh time this season, the end result was not good for Owens and the Quakers. Their frustration is growing, but given that they have taken Top-25 teams to the wire in back-to-back games, this seventh disappointment may be the Quakers' last for a while.

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