Quakers make it close but cannot close vs. Villanova

With 12:28 to go in its game against No. 3 Villanova, the Penn men's basketball team hoped it could replicate its miraculous comeback from 10 months ago against Princeton. Instead, it got something closer to what happened six days earlier at No. 1 Duke. Penn made a valiant 24-7 run - holding the Wildcats without a field goal for 11 and a half minutes - but in the end came up on the short end of a 62-55 score. In between, the nearly sold-out Palestra came alive as the Quakers attempted their comeback. Allan Ray scored a game-high 19 points to lead Villanova (7-0, 1-0 Big 5) to its first 7-0 start in a decade. Junior guard Ibrahim Jaaber led the Quakers (3-4, 0-2) with 14 points, after scoring only one point in the first half. It was Penn's poor shooting that kept it out of the game early. The Quakers shot only 10-for-31 in the first half, and missed their first 18 three-pointers - nine in the first - as Villanova jumped to a 32-23 halftime lead. Both coaches - Villanova's Jay Wright and Penn's Fran Dunphy - agreed that the poor shooting was a combination of a cold night and tough Wildcats defense. "I think you might want to give Villanova credit for that, but we also had some pretty good looks, the ball just didn't go," Dunphy said. Playing without junior forward Steve Danley, Penn's best post presence, the Quakers still went inside - but for backdoor layups and driving buckets, outscoring the Wildcats 30-14 in the paint. That was mostly because Penn was able to take advantage of Villanova's pressing up on the ball at the perimeter, and the Wildcats did not execute the pressure well. The Quakers also outrebounded Villanova 41-37. It was sophomore guard Brian Grandieri - who played 16 second half minutes, mostly in relief of an ineffective senior guard Eric Osmundson - and senior swingman Friedrich Ebede - who started for Danley - who along with Jaaber and junior forward Mark Zoller keyed the Penn run. "I'd rather just give Penn credit," Villanova coach Jay Wright said, instead of focusing on how his team struggled in nearly coughing away the lead. "Penn's a real good team," Ray said. A Ray layup with 12:28 to play capped a 16-3 Villanova run and made the score 50-29. But then the Quakers woke up. "We were just trying to keep our heads in the game," Jaaber said. Ebede hit two straight layups, followed by two from Grandieri. When Jaaber hit Penn's first - and only - three of the game on a rattler from the right wing with 6:53 to play, the Quakers were still down 15, but the crowd came alive and the Wildcats went into a shooting funk of their own. Altogether, they missed 12 straight shots from the field, as Penn used a steal and a Zoller layup, a pair of free throws each from Ebede and Jaaber to cut the deficit to under 10 for the first time in 11 and a half minutes. Then, the Quakers really made it a game. Ebede hit yet another layup, and Jaaber buried a 15-footer from the wing to make it a five-point game. The senior has played sparingly in his Penn career, but had arguably his best collegiate game, scoring 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, and grabbing 10 rebounds, five on the offensive glass. He also led all players on either team by playing 38 minutes. However, Ebede downplayed the significance of his performance. "I just thought I would come out and play like a senior - to stay poised and keep my composure," he said. But then came the most important play of the night. Jaaber was fouled by Randy Foye with 1:56 to play. After hitting the first shot, the second rattled out. Jaaber then fouled Ray on the rebound, and the Wildcats senior calmly sank a pair on the other end - turning a potential three-point game into a six-point affair. But it was not quite over yet. After a timeout, Jason Fraser did not realize he was supposed to come out of the game, and the referees called a technical foul despite the fervent protests from Wright. Jaaber hit the ensuing free throws to put the score at 57-53 with 1:17 to play. But Foye made a clutch shot from 13 feet on the left side after a beautiful crossover dribble to put the dagger in the Quakers' hearts. "Coach just called the play, he called my number," he said. Wright said that the game was just typical Big 5 basketball. "Crazy things happen in this place," he said. "We just have to survive these games," he added The loss was the second in a week to a top-three team for Penn, who lost by 13 at No. 1 Duke last Wednesday. Despite hanging tough in both games, Dunphy did not feel too positive about the outcomes. "We take no solace in that they're close," he said. Dunphy said that at least now the Quakers can learn from their mistakes and have a chance to be much more successful down the line. "Now all of a sudden we're a better basketball team and we have a chance to do something special," he said. Penn now has 16 days off before traveling to Hawaii to take on Hawaii and BYU-Hawaii over winter break. Note:Freshman guard Aron Cohen did not dress after suffering a bruised calf.