PRINCETON, N.J. -- As the sixth man of two Penn championship teams, 2003 graduate Dave Klatsky saw eight Penn-Princeton battles during his career in red and blue uniforms.
One particular game stands out in his mind, though.
Two years ago, the Quakers ventured to Jadwin Gym having lost two of their first five Ivy games of the season. The starting lineup that year saw two new faces, both of whom were new to the squad -- Andrew Toole transferred from Elon College and Tim Begley entered the Quakers lineup as a freshman.
Penn needed a win against Princeton on Feb. 12, 2002. Any other result would effectively eliminate the Quakers from the Ivy title race.
Nothing like adversity to spur a champion.
"To come in here, when no one really expected us to do well ... to be able to blow them out, it was something special," said Klatsky from his fourth-row seat in Jadwin Gym.
Last night, the Quakers marched into Princeton and silenced any doubters as to whether Penn can compete with the other top teams in the Ivy League.
After dropping their first two games of the conference schedule -- both in heartbreaking fashion -- the Quakers faced more than their arch-nemesis in orange and black. Last night, Penn battled past any inner struggles it had against Brown and Yale.
From the opening minutes, the Quakers entered the game with a sense of urgency.
Senior Jeff Schiffner used the screens his teammates set to perfection, scoring 16 of his 22 points in the first half.
The vibe spread to all of the Penn players on the court.
Mark Zoller's curly hair was visible even from the nosebleed section of Jadwin Gym, and Penn fans had plenty to notice last night from the lone freshman starter. The big man treated the Red and Blue crew amidst the rafters of the airplane hanger of Jadwin Gym, knocking down 16 points in his 34 minutes of play.
With senior Adam Chubb out for 15 minutes of the first half with foul trouble, he also played a crucial role on defense, limiting Princeton's star big man, Judson Wallace, to 11 points.
Perhaps the most impressive single moment of his game came from his one assist.
After drawing a double team two minutes into the second half, Zoller found a cutting Adam Chubb who slammed the ball home. The dunk marked the end of a 6-0 Penn run to begin the half, and forced Princeton to take a timeout. As Zoller ran back down court, his jaw dropped in awe.
But following Chubb's dunk, Princeton mounted a 5-0 comeback behind a three by Scott Greenman and a fastbreak layup by Wallace.
Amidst an uproar from the Princeton faithful, a Penn veteran stepped up. Begley nailed a three from the top of the key, and held one finger to his lips -- silence.
The Tigers did not mount another effective charge for the rest of the game.
Penn coach Fran Dunphy insists that every team has a distinct personality and therefore it's impossible to compare two different squads from different teams.
This is a different team from two years ago. Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong are not lurking in the post. This batch of Quakers does not need to be compared to great teams from the past, and as of now, they do not deserve the same recognition as the team from 2001-02.
Penn's veterans certainly have matured since entering Jadwin two years ago.
"He's just a great player -- there's no other way to put it,"Klatsky said of Schiffner in the second half. "People think of him as a shooter, but he just became a shooter last year because we had so many options."
He now can do just about everything.
As a freshman, Begley was a consistent scorer, but was effectively the fifth option on the court.
He's transformed into a player that gladly delivers the dagger to the Tigers' hopes.
Penn's veterans have shown that they respond to pressure.
There will be plenty of more opportunities to prove it as the Ivy season moves on.
Sure there are parallels between the Quakers of two years ago and now.
But there's no need to compare. This edition of Penn is defining itself on its own terms.
