BOSTON -- With the score tied at 35 against Harvard early in the second half, the Penn men's basketball team needed a spark.
Having squandered a 13-point first-half lead and the momentum that went with it, the Quakers looked to their captain, senior Tim Begley, to put them back on course.
Begley responded, scoring six points during a crucial 11-0 spurt to give Penn the lead and ensure a 70-57 road victory over the Crimson.
In a game of runs, it was Begley who ultimately made the difference.
In total he recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds, good for his third double-double of the season. With his three-pointer just three minutes into the game, Begley moved past former teammate Jeff Schiffner for sole possession of second on Penn's all-time list with trifecta number 221.
After the game, however, Begley was more pleased that he could lead the Quakers to a win.
"You just gotta make the plays, and sometimes it's going to be my chance," he said.
Early in the game, it looked as though the Red and Blue would cruise. Three-pointers by Eric Osmundson, Ibby Jaaber and Jan Fikiel helped Penn race out to a 25-12 lead with seven minutes remaining in the half.
The Crimson battled back, though, led by Matt Stehle, who scored a team-high 14 points. By halftime, Harvard had narrowed it to a six-point gap.
While the second half proved to be Begley's time, Dunphy also pointed to the Quakers'defensive effort as a key tovictory.
"I think we tightened up defensively," he said. "And then we made some pretty good decisions on the offensive end."
Begley gave credit to Penn's forwards, who held highly regarded Harvard seven-footer Brian Cusworth to just five points on 2-of-12 shooting.
"They definitely did a good job against the big boys down low," Begley said.
In a physical game marred by fouls -- Harvard had 26 and Penn was whistled for 17 -- it was important for Penn to dominate in the post.
Offensively, the Quakers held a 34-22 advantage in points in the paint. Dunphy was also pleased with the interior defense, highlighting the efforts of Ryan Pettinella and Mark Zoller, whom he dubbed "a bull in a china shop" for his rough-and-tumble play.
With Cusworth out of the game because of foul trouble, Zoller was able to patrol the paint and converted two layups to push the lead to 11 points with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation.
For the game, Zoller had nine points and brought down three rebounds in his 12 minutes of action.
One minute later, Ibby Jaaber came up with a steal -- he finished with three -- and found teammate Jan Fikiel for a break-away dunk. Fikiel's jam essentially put away the Crimson and guaranteed that a relieved Penn squad would leave Boston with a victory.
"I think Harvard is much improved," Dunphy said. "They gave us everything we could handle for a stretch there in that second half."
Notes: Pettinella had five points and four rebounds but shot a woeful 1-for-9 from the foul line, dropping his season percentage to 36.4 percent.
Matt Stehle led the Crimson with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, grabbing a team-highseven rebounds along the way. However, he had only twoassists and a game-high seven turnovers.
The game marked the third straight win for the Quakers at Lavietes Pavilion, all of which were by double digits. Penn has won six straight in the series and is 25-5 overall in Dunphy's career in West Philadelphia against the Crimson.
The last time that the Red and Blue started 3-0 in the Ivy League was in 2002-03, and it was also the last time that the Quakers won the Ivy League and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
