SAN FRANCISCO -- The Penn men's basketball team still cannot figure out a way to win on the road. Despite a furious second-half comeback, the Quakers lost 65-61 to the University of San Francisco at War Memorial Gymnasium Tuesday night.
Even though they committed 13 fouls in the first half, the Quakers (4-5) trailed the Dons (9-4) by only five points at intermission. Sophomore guard Ibby Jaaber, who led the team in scoring with 12 points, gave the Quakers an early 5-2 lead with an acrobatic lay up. After forcing a turnover, Jaaber grabbed the loose ball, sprinted up court and, despite being fouled hard, agilely laid the ball in with his left hand.
Jaaber missed the ensuing free throw. His miss proved to be an indicator of things to come. Missed free throws continued to plague Penn throughout the night. The Quakers followed up a 17-for-29 (59 percent) free throw shooting performance in the New Year's Eve loss against Villanova with an even worse 10-18 (56 percent) against the Dons.
In addition to missing free throws, the Quakers blew several wide open lay-ups. Coach Fran Dunphy accredited the uncharacteristic Quaker miscues to the quickness of the Dons. "When the athleticism gets turned up you panic a little bit," Dunphy explained.
Trailing 35-30 at the half, the Quakers continued their careless play to start the second half. The Dons took advantage, mounting a 15 point led with just over nine minutes left. Strong perimeter shooting by the Dons, including six of Jerome Gumbs' game-high 19 points dimmed the Quakers chances for victory.
But a Tim Begley three-pointer followed by a quick steal and dunk by Eric Osmundson reenergized the team and the many local Penn alumni and students in attendance. At times, it seemed that Quakers fans outnumbered USF supporters.
Osmundson, the lone California native on the team, was instrumental in the Quaker comeback. After two Mark Zoller free throws, Osmundson forced a five-second call on Jon Cox. Ryan Pettinella continued the Quakers run converting three tough lay-ups, showing a wide arsenal of low post moves.
With just under two minutes to play, Osmundson, playing in front of his parents and family, struck again. With another steal and dunk, Osmundson pulled the Quakers within two points. While the crowd reacted loudly to Osmundson's two dunks, Dunphy was more impressed with the aggressive defense that created the dunks.
"It would be nice if the dunks were more than two points, but that's all they are . The good part was that he created the loose balls to get himself some easy baskets," Dunphy explained.
After a USF time out with 1:24 left and Penn trailing by two, Steve Danley snuck in front of his man, intercepted the inbounds pass and quickly converted another Penn fast break dunk, completing a 19-4 Penn run that tied the score at 59. USF regrouped and Cox made two free throws to put the Dons ahead, 61-59. On the ensuing Quaker possession, Jaaber's three-point attempt rimmed in and out. With 26 seconds left, Jason Gaines converted two more free throws to give the Dons a four point lead. Danley knocked down an open jumper to cut the lead back to two, but Cox made two clutch free throws with seven seconds left to put the game away.
Even though he made several free throws down the stretch, the Quakers held Cox, the Dons' leading scorer, to just ten points. Cox attended Carver High School in Philadelphia and is the son of former NBA player Chubby Cox and the cousin of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. Cox's disappointing performance contrasts sharply with his 21-point performance against another Big 5 school, St. Joseph's. Nonetheless, the victory against a Philadelphia school had significant meaning for Cox. "I'll take the two-game sweep," Cox said, referring to the Dons' success against its Big 5 opponents.
Penn did fare far better against the Dons than St. Joe's, who lost to the Dons by 26. Yet, the outcome of the game left the Quakers searching for answers as to why they cannot win away from the Palestra.
"I think we have a chance to be a pretty good basketball team, but we can't go through stretches of not doing the right thing . I like our guys and they play really hard. Hopefully we can learn from this," Dunphy commented.
The Quakers will have another opportunity this Saturday. They stop in Chicago to play Illinois-Chicago to complete their cross-country road trip.
