Penn alum competes against Sixers

There's nothing like taking your former college teammate back to school on the hardwood.

But former Penn men's basketball player Geoff Owens didn't quite get that chance.

Owens was supposed to face his former teammate and 2000 Penn graduate Matt Langel last Sunday at Temple's McGonigle Hall in the annual scrimmage between the Baker League All-Stars and the Philadelphia 76ers' summer league team.

But during the Sixers' pre-summer league camp at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine last week, Langel was cut from the team.

With the 6'5" guard not suiting up for the annual scrimmage, only one Penn alumnus played last Sunday at the home of the Owls.

Owens started for the Baker League All-Stars, which included the best players from Sonny Hill's pro league. The 6'11" center got off to a rough start, missing all of his first three field goal attempts. Owens finished the game with six points, two boards, two blocks and two steals in 26 minutes of playing time. He shot 2-for-6 from the field and made both his attempts from the charity stripe.

His team kept it interesting, despite expectations from fans and the press that the Sixers would blow out the Baker League All-Stars. Good moves to the hoop and strong perimeter shooting from both sides prevented either team from running away with the game.

And at the conclusion of the first half, the Sixers surprisingly led by only one point. However, the top players on Philadelphia's rookie/free-agent squad -- Raja Bell, Speedy Claxton and Rodney Buford -- did not play at all in the second quarter.

The Sixers began to pull away in the second, as Philadelphia point guard and former Temple star Pepe Sanchez ignited his team's offense -- and the crowd -- with great passing.

Also contributing offensively with a few Iverson-like crossover moves past his defender was Claxton. The backcourt duo of Sanchez and Claxton helped their team extend its lead to 87-80 by the end of the third quarter.

The Baker League All-Stars were never able to get close in the fourth quarter, and the 2,800 in attendance began to head out with 3:30 left on the game clock. The Sixers eventually won by a score of 114-104.

Fans also headed out early because they were afraid the final minutes would be an eternity, much like the rest of the game. The contest was characterized by excessive whistle-blowing by the referees, which slowed down the pace of the game and was indicated by the fact that both teams were in the penalty very early in all four quarters.

The Sixers are now up north at the University of Massachusetts-Boston participating in the Shaw Summer League, which concludes this Sunday.

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