With four seconds left on the clock, a three-pointer from Penn's Charlie Copp would tie the game at 81. That shot, however, became a turnover, forcing the Quakers to foul and send Yale's Ime Archibong to the line in front of a boisterous crowd at Payne Whitney gymnasium.
Two swishes later, the Elis had put the game out of reach for Penn, who would drop to 2-3 -- their first losing record in Ivy League play since the 1991-92 season.
That Friday night loss, Feb. 8, 2002, was the last in 24 league games for the Quakers, who kick off the 2004 Ivy campaign Friday night in none other than New Haven, Conn.
This year's Quakers (7-6) are not all that different from the team that eventually won a share of the Ancient Eight title in 2002.
For both teams, poor shooting down the stretch ended up costing them close games. Losses to Temple and Rider this season stand out in particular. Despite leading at the half in both contests, Penn's scoring trailed off in the closing minutes.
Even some of the Quakers' wins have been a little too close for comfort, due in large part to shots not dropping in the second half.
"If you look at how we finished St. John's and Manhattan," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "We had some leads in the second half and we should have been a lot more comfortable, but somehow we found a way to win those games."
In the two games at the Dreyfus Holiday Classic in December, the Quakers had first-half leads of 28-18 and 28-15 over St. John's and Manhattan, respectively. Both contests were decided by two points -- the first in double overtime.
"We definitely need to figure out how to win those close games," Penn senior Adam Chubb said. "A lot of Ivy League games are going to come down to just a few points here and there."
At a game over .500 in nonconference play, how will the Quakers perform against familiar Ivy League opponents?
"I guess we'll find out," Dunphy said.
Penn started the season with a tough schedule, which included then-No. 15 Wisconsin, then-No. 3 Michigan State and current-No. 3 Saint Joseph's. With the exception of Michigan State, the Quakers were within reach in all of their six losses.
"Obviously we have one of the more difficult schedules in the nation nonconference-wise, so we'd like to think over the years it's really helped us prepare," Dunphy said. "I think overall we're pleased. A game here or there that we think maybe we could have stolen would have been great."
On the season, the Quakers are averaging 66.3 points per game on 42.5 percent shooting. But a major difference between this group and Penn teams of late is the drop-off in three-point baskets. Though only a small difference on paper -- 37.8 percent compared to 41.3 in 2003 -- the decline can be seen on the court, especially in close games.
A year ago, Penn's Jeff Schiffner led the nation in three-point shooting, averaging 2.6 treys per game and lofting them with 49.3 percent accuracy. To date, the senior guard is hitting only 35.3 percent from long range.
"He'll get out of it and start to shoot it well here shortly," Dunphy added. "And we're going to need him to do that."
Ironically, the Quakers are losing more games when Schiffner is hitting three-pointers. In Penn's seven wins, the senior is averaging 25.2 percent from behind the arc, compared to 46.7 percent in the six losses for the Red and Blue.
Fortunately, Fran Dunphy's Quakers have never been a team to rely solely on the long shot.
Inside play for Penn this season has been improving. Chubb has contributed critical buckets in the paint, in addition to pulling down a team-high seven rebounds per contest. The senior has seen 59 trips to the free-throw line, making 44, or 75 percent, of those shots.
"We always do the same thing, we try to get it inside first when the defense collapses, we kick it back out and get it to who's ever open they should be ready to shoot the basketball," he said.
Penn has had plenty of people ready to shoot the basketball. Junior Tim Begley is averaging 12 points per game, and has scored at least 20 in the Quakers' last two contests, including five triples against Temple.
The six newcomers who joined the Quakers this season have all made contributions, and have given Dunphy a deep bench to work with heading into league play.
Most notable of the freshmen is Mark Zoller, who assumed the role of starting forward from junior Jan Fikiel on Dec. 20, in a 58-49 win over Bucknell. Since then, the Blue Bell, Pa., native is averaging 9.8 points and 6.8 boards per game, notching double-doubles against La Salle and Temple.
Zoller has been a difference-maker in games so far for the Quakers. His aggressiveness on the glass and ability to execute in the paint has filled a void for Penn. Zoller has seen action in all 13 games for Penn this season, and feels prepared for his first Ivy League run.
"I thought we played a pretty tough nonconference schedule to get us ready for this, playing a couple ranked teams, and they were a good test for us," he said. "We're looking to be strong and to be a contender, and hopefully those games in the preseason got us ready for the Ivy League."
Going in to Ancient Eight play, Dunphy has had several opportunities to test-drive different lineups on the floor, and feels comfortable with his options on the bench.
Comparatively, more players are seeing significant minutes this season than Penn teams of the past in which only six or seven players saw court time regularly.
There is no stand-out star on this Quakers' team, but rather a more balanced and flexible squad. Dunphy was hesitant to evaluate his players individually, saying "we're a team."
How does this team perform on its midterm exam?
"Maybe a B," Dunphy said. "We would have preferred to be an A student, but we needed to probably finish a couple of games a little bit more strongly than we did."
Only time will tell, as the Quakers take their 24-game Ivy win streak back to New Haven this Friday.
The last time Penn went on a league winning streak, it lasted 48 games, an Ivy record, and just two shy of UCLA's national record 50 consecutive conference wins. That streak, which started with a win over Cornell on March 7, 1992, was cut short in a devastating 54-53 loss at Dartmouth Feb. 9, 1996. The Quakers rebounded the next day, defeating Harvard, 77-63 -- the win that would have tied UCLA coach John Wooden's national record.
