Back in 1999, Penn let a 33-9 halftime lead against Princeton slip away, falling by one point to its archrival at the Palestra.
It was a heartbreaking loss, but it turned out to be a timely lesson for the Quakers. They responded by winning the rest of their Ivy League games and clinching a tournament berth.
Last night, six years later, Penn was on the winning end of an equally improbable comeback, best described as nothing short of a miracle.
The Quakers received a similarly important message last night, learning that they are not invincible despite being undefeated in Ivy League play.
But oh, how sweet it is to learn that lesson and win.
Penn now sits atop the Ivy League at 5-0, while Cornell trails far behind in second place at 4-2.
Quakers coach Fran Dunphy said that it was the greatest comeback in his coaching career, which includes 16 years at the helm of Penn.
"Everything went our way," he said. "It was a hell of a victory, because Princeton played great for 33 minutes."
Quakers senior captain Tim Begley noted that it was the best basketball game he had ever been a part of -- not just at Penn, but in his entire life.
Trailing by 18 with under eight minutes left in the game, Penn went on a 21-3 run to close out the second half and force the game into overtime.
It all began with senior guard Eric Osmundson, who scored seven unanswered points for Penn -- including an incredibly rare four-point play -- in a 20 second span.
He rebounded an Ibby Jaaber miss, got fouled and completed a three-point play to start the run.
Seconds later, after the Quakers' full-court pressure forced a Princeton turnover, Osmundson got fouled on another shot -- this time a three-pointer -- and nailed it. He swished the free throw soon after.
"When Oz hit the shot, and gets tackled on the play, you kind of think, 'Oh, here we go,' and the crowd started getting into it," Begley said.
This 7-0 run came just after the Penn Band played the Mike and the Mechanics song, "All I Need is a Miracle."
Indeed, Penn needed a miracle -- and perhaps more -- to come back from an 18-point deficit against a Tigers team that uses nearly all 35 seconds of the shot clock on every possession.
But the Quakers' unrelenting defense refused to surrender.
"We just stayed focused out there," Osmundson said.
Dunphy wisely substituted senior forward Jan Fikiel into the game for Mark Zoller. Fikiel scored eight points in the final five minutes of regulation and overtime.
After a layup that reduced Princeton's lead to 10, Fikiel nailed the second of his three trifectas, cutting the lead to six.
Penn forward Steve Danley then stepped up. After a sloppy play that seemed destined to be a turnover, Danley somehow recovered the ball and scored to close the lead to 55-52.
Then Begley made a great veteran play, sneaking up behind Princeton senior Judson Wallace, stealing the ball, and taking the ball coast-to-coast for an uncontested layup. Just over 30 seconds later, Wallace committed his fifth foul and was forced to take a seat.
Still, Princeton appeared to be in control of the game.
Senior Andre Logan stepped up to the line, leading by one, with under 40 seconds left in the game. He made only one of the free throws, allowing Penn to go for two on its next possession.
That's when Osmundson re-emerged as the Quakers' miracle worker.
Penn pushed the ball up the court, and Osmundson drove to the hole, forcing a Princeton foul.
Osmundson had already missed three free throws in the game. But when they counted most, he calmly drained both of them.
With the game tied 56-56, Princeton had one final chance to win the game. Tigers coach Joe Scott hoped to get the ball to forward Mike Stephens, but Danley stole the ball and forced the game into overtime.
From there, the Wallace-less Tigers were outmatched by a Quakers team that seemed to have all the momentum on their side.
In overtime, Jaaber gave Penn its first lead of the game at 58-56.
After Princeton's Will Venable cut the lead to one and with the shot clock expiring, Begley chucked up a deep three-pointer from the top of the key.
When the shot left his hands, it appeared to have no chance at going in the basket. As if there were no other way this game was going to end, the ball banked in, extending the Quakers' lead to four.
Begley's trifecta provided a most appropriate finale to a miraculous Quakers comeback that puts them in the driver's seat for the Ivy League title.
Josh Pollick is a junior political sciencemajor from Los Angeles. His e-mail address is jpollick@sas.upenn.edu.
