Two years ago, there was only one player on the bench who was worthy of the cheesesteak throne.
With just 10 seconds to play, senior Dan Solomito knocked down a three-pointer to push the Quakers into cheesesteak territory against a dismal Dartmouth squad. He was the humble last man on the bench, dedicated to a Penn team that featured five talented starters.
But this year, there was no Dan Solomito. And, more importantly, there was plenty of time on the clock and no Dartmouth squad on the court when the Quakers broke the century mark.
With over a minute to play, junior guard Pat Lang squared up at the top of the key and launched the three-point shot that would put Penn over 100 points and send many fans sprinting to Abner's before the matchup against Harvard had even ended.
It was an appropriate ending to a game that was dominated only marginally by Penn's "big threats."
The Penn-Princeton road trip is notorious in the Ivy League. In the span of just two days, visiting teams are forced to take on the league's two toughest teams, where dangerous three-point shooters abound.
Not to mention having to play in the Palestra.
A solid game plan is necessary in the historic building, where emotions run wild, the fans are inches from the court and the sound ricochets from wall to wall.
And so, Harvard and Dartmouth came into their matchups against the Quakers this weekend with similar strategies -- shut down shooting guards Tim Begley and Jeff Schiffner.
That tactic, while clearly essential, wasn't enough on a weekend when Penn's entire team showed up to play, and not just its strongholds from behind the arc.
The difference between Penn and its competition this weekend was not Begley and Schiffner. Instead, it was the combination of Begley, Schiffner, the rest of the starting five and a long list of names from the bench.
Friday night, against an obviously struggling Harvard squad, Penn's bench combined to score 36 of the Quakers' 104 points.
Against the Big Green, the Red and Blue's reserves contributed an impressive 17 points to the effort.
But what's more impressive, is that on each of those nights, it wasn't just one person coming off the bench to step up. In fact, on each night there was a different star coming off the pine.
Friday showcased freshman Ibby Jaaber, who shot 5-for-9 from the field for an impressive 13-point total on the night. Jaaber, who could likely out-sprint and out-jump a majority of the Ivy League's players, also contributed three rebounds and five steals in 17 minutes.
Perhaps the weekend's greatest success story came on Saturday night, when a familiar face proved that desire can be just as motivational as talent.
After starting the first six games of the season, junior Jan Fikiel has found himself at the bottom of Penn's bench in recent weeks. After a few lackluster performances mid-way through the season, Fikiel went from starter to sub to team motivator.
However, on Saturday night, he exploded for 10 points, three rebounds and a steal. When the Penn squad needed a spark, it wasn't Schiff, Begs or even Adam Chubb who pulled through.
Fikiel entered with just under four minutes left in the first half, with Penn struggling to pull away from a scrappy Dartmouth squad. Fikiel knocked down his first shot of the game, a jumper, and then drew a foul with just 34 seconds left in the half. He hit both free throws to put the Quakers up, 26-22, heading into the locker room.
In the second half, Fikiel put the crowd on its feet in the final six minutes as he drew three fouls -- and knocked down all six foul shots.
It turns out that Penn's most fiery players may not, in fact, come from the starting lineup. If the Ivy League could learn one lesson from Penn's matchups this weekend, it's that Begley and Schiffner are not the only two players worth writing scout reports for; instead, every man suited up in Red and Blue on any given night can be a "big threat."
