M. Hoops gets it done from behind the arc

On Dec. 9, 1996, the Penn men's basketball team sunk 15 three-pointers in one game and, by scoring more than 100 points, guaranteed cheesesteaks for the entire crowd.

Last night there weren't any cheesesteaks, but there were plenty of three-pointers.

En route to an 89-80 victory over Drexel, the Quakers established a new team record by dropping 16 from downtown.

Much to Drexel coach Bruiser Flint's dismay, it seemed as if the Red and Blue couldn't miss in the second half, shooting 71.4 percent from behind the arc.

"They got hot," Flint said. "Our whole thing the whole night was to make them... beat us off the dribble and make them make plays at the rim because I knew they could shoot threes."

The Dragons did everything they could to tie up Penn's inside game, and they were successful.

But the Quakers were undeterred. They kicked the ball outside to their guards -- junior Andy Toole, sophomore Jeff Schiffner and freshman Tim Begley, who combined for a total of 10 three-pointers.

Schiffner led the attack with five, three of which came in the second half.

"They were doubling down on Ugonna and Koko... but it freed me up," Schiffner said. "I gotta just step up, I gotta take that shot. It's my job out on the court."

But the Quakers guards weren't alone behind the arc.

The frontcourt got into the action, too, as Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong each nailed a trio of three-pointers for the Red and Blue.

"We look for the open man and it just happened that it was the three-point shooter," Toole said. "The way our offense runs, the motion that we have, the unselfishness we play with, just allows anyone who's open to take the shot. And with five guys that can make shots, it's tough to cover."

Penn stepped off the court at halftime down by two. With Onyekwe sitting on the bench due to foul trouble, the Quakers were in need of a spark.

The three-point shot proved to be just that. After Schiffner dropped two threes in a row four minutes into the second half, Penn's momentum picked up and the Red and Blue took over the lead.

And with the help of consistent perimeter shooting, the Quakers retained the lead for the rest of the game.

Penn coach Fran Dunphy was pleased with the new three-point record, but is hesitant to become too reliant on his team's outside game.

"Does it worry me? Yes," Dunphy said. "I don't think any coach would answer any differently. We shot 16-for-18 tonight. We can't count on that."

But Penn can certainly use outside shooting as a weapon when needed.

There are few teams in the country that can boast solid three-point shooting from all five of their starters.

Luckily for Penn, the Quakers now have that ability, with Archibong and Onyekwe asserting themselves as solid threats from anywhere on the court.

"I took a lot of shots over the summer," Onyekwe said. "That's just something I needed to work on. I just wanted to improve my shooting overall."

Drexel's main go-to man, Robert Battle, was ready for Onyekwe and Archibong in the paint, but he wasn't expecting to have to guard them beyond the arc.

"It was really difficult," Battle said. "It was the first game I had to go out there and play a perimeter post man."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.