ITHACA N.Y. -- Though it may not be Arkansas' famous "40 Minutes of Hell," Penn's pressing defense was too much for Cornell to handle.
Guards Ibby Jaaber and David Whitehurst provided suffocating pressure which allowed Penn to secure a 66-49 victory over the Big Red at Newman Arena.
The win, coupled with Yale's 82-66 loss to Harvard, allowed the Red and Blue to clinch a share of the Ivy League crown. The Quakers would claim the outright title the following night against Columbia.
According to coach Fran Dunphy, it was Penn's relentless defense which led to an 8-0 run to open up the second half and help the Quakers pull away.
"I thought we defended very well the first segment of the second half," he said. "And we got some easy baskets because of our defense."
On the Big Red's first possession of the second frame, a Tim Begley steal led to a breakaway layup by Mark Zoller. On the ensuing possession, Ibby Jaaber blocked a layup attempt by Lenny Collins which led to a score from Whitehurst.
Jaaber's defense caused fits for Cornell coach Steve Donahue, a former Dunphy assistant at Penn. Jaaber limited Cornell's leading scorer, Collins, to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
After breaking Penn's single-season steals record -- formerly held by Matt Maloney -- last weekend against Yale, Jaaber showed no signs of slowing down. The Elizabeth, N.J., native recorded five picks and made life difficult for Cornell's guards.
"Everybody wanted to see how I would react [after securing Penn's steals record]. Will I play the same way? Will I take so many risks?" Jaaber said. "I just wanted to step up and take the same opportunities that are presented in every other game.
"Today I felt like I was reading the players a lot better and I just had a couple easy steals."
Jaaber's defense was contagious and Dunphy was particularly pleased about the pressure he and Whitehurst put on Cornell's ballhandlers.
"When you have somebody like Whitehurst who is a very athletic kid, it would be foolish not to try to put some pressure on some dribblers up the court," Dunphy said. "We should take advantage of that."
In his first career collegiate start, Whitehurst made his presence felt on the offensive end as well. He reached career-highs in points (eight) and minutes (27). His three-pointer with 2:43 left in the first half started an 8-2 run which gave the Quakers some much-needed momentum going into the locker room.
Whitehurst started in place of senior Eric Osmundson who, according to Dunphy, "had a horrendous week at practice."
Though Osmundson saw a decline in his minutes, he made the most of his chances, scoring nine points and converting a four-point play.
Osmundson's classmate, captain Tim Begley, also deferred to the underclassmen on a relatively quiet night.
Begley scored seven points and constantly complained to the referees that he was being held by Cornell defenders.
Begley's "going to get held. He's got to cut harder than that," Dunphy said. "I thought in the second half he was much more composed and let the game come to him a little bit more."
The senior captain found other ways to contribute, chipping in seven rebounds and seven assists.
With the opportunity to wrap up the Ancient Eight title, Jaaber said it was essential for Penn not to replicate its slow start against the Big Red at the Palestra.
"We saw what we did wrong and we just wanted to make it better," he said.
NOTES: With his eight steals this weekend, Jaaber also continued his assault on the single-season Ivy League steals record held by Harvard's Matt Gellert with 74. Jaaber currently has 71 with three games remaining.
