The night after the Penn men's basketball team lit up Harvard for 104 points, Penn coach Fran Dunphy knew that Dartmouth would bring a different type of matchup for the Quakers squad.
"We were talking before the game that it would be a different kind of game than last night was," Dunphy said.
With the Penn faithful clamoring for the possibility of more free cheesesteaks, the Quakers instead found themselves scrapping for points against a defensive-minded Dartmouth team.
But after struggling in the first half, the Quakers found their touch in the second half to put away the Big Green, 67-49, improving to an overall winning record and .500 in the Ivy League.
"We didn't run our offense as well as we would've liked," Dunphy said. "But I give [Dartmouth] a lot of credit, they're a good defensive basketball team."
In a first half marked by strong defense and slow paced action, the Quakers (9-8, 2-2 Ivy) could not find their offensive rhythm, as they shot only 8-of-25 from the field.
Yet the Big Green (3-17, 1-5) could not take advantage of Penn's lackluster shooting performance, committing 11 first-half turnovers and attempting only 18 shots.
After Dartmouth went up by as many as three, the Quakers countered with a three-pointer by junior Tim Begley and a layup by freshman Mark Zoller to take a 26-22 lead into halftime.
The Quakers' offense came alive in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field and making 7-of-11 shots from beyond the arc.
"We executed our plays much better in the second half," Penn senior Charlie Copp said.
Penn opened up the second half on an 11-4 run, marked by two Begley threes, to take a solid 37-26 lead.
After Dartmouth freshman guard Leon Pattman cut Penn's lead to six, the Quakers responded with three straight three-pointers from senior Jeff Schiffner, Copp and junior Eric Osmundson to all but put the game away.
Schiffner led the Quakers with 15 points, on 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Copp added 11 points and five assists.
The Quakers received substantial minutes from junior Jan Fikiel, who finished with 10 points -- eight of which were from the charity stripe. His 15 minutes Saturday were the most he received since losing his starting job to Zoller after the Dec. 9 game against Villanova.
"What happened to him is not an easy thing, he started the first six games," Dunphy said. "He never wavered from his attitude, and what he did the other night ... I think its a great test of character so the next time you get an opportunity you give him the chance."
Pattman led all scorers with 22 points and five rebounds. The five-time Ivy Rookie of the Week lived up to his hype, shooting an impressive 7-for-11 from the field and sinking 8-of-9 foul shots.
"I think it was obvious to the people attending the game he's a very talented offensive player," Dartmouth coach Dave Faucher said of Pattman. "He'll be an Ivy League talent that people will enjoy watching over the next four years."
Both Dunphy and Faucher were wearing sneakers during the game as a tribute to the national Coaches vs. Cancer program undertaken by the NCAA.
Around the Ivy League Friday's games PENN 104, Harvard 69 Cornell 96, Brown 81 Princeton 61, Dartmouth 45 Yale 63, Columbia 58 Saturday's games PENN 67, Dartmouth 49 Brown 90, Columbia 81 Princeton 58, Harvard 50 2OT Yale 67, Cornell 48
