They are two nights in Mark Zoller's great career, one ordinary and one extraordinary. And they are now forever tied to each other in history.
The first night: Dec. 7, 2002, the previous time that Penn beat Temple, and just another evening at the gym in the life of Mark Zoller.
He had 15 points that night.
But Zoller wouldn't want you to remember that. He'd want you to remember that his St. Joseph's Prep team beat Chestnut Hill Academy 58-36.
The second night: Jan. 24, 2007. Not the night he got a double-double against his former coach. Not the night he swished the biggest two free throws of his life and sank the third for good measure.
But the night he finally beat Temple.
For the senior class of Ibrahim Jaaber, Stephen Danley and Zoller, takes one, two and three ended in nothing but frustration.
Freshman year, it was a 73-69 loss that wasn't as close as the score made it seem.
In 2004-05, it was an excruciating loss, as the Quakers were held without a field goal for the last three minutes. Mardy Collins sank two free throws in the closing seconds to put the Owls up 52-51 and Jaaber's buzzer-beater rimmed out.
Last year was just as painful, especially for Zoller, who missed the front end of a one-and-one with 19 seconds to play and the Quakers down by two.
Last night, it was redemption. He didn't miss.
"Definitely playing against Temple and beating them for the first time is something that's pretty special to us," Zoller said.
Making it even more special for the Blue Bell, Pa., native are his local connections. Zoller spent his summers playing against players from all over the area, including the Owls.
Perhaps the one who fueled Zoller's emotion most was Temple's Chris Clark.
A Prep graduate himself, Clark scored six points that night back in 2002.
As the game progressed, the emotion flowed out from the Penn side. Zoller and Jaaber were visibly excited after every basket.
Even Glen Miller, who had no connection to the rivalry before this year, got into it. Miller let loose with an emphatic fist pump straight out of the
Howard Dean playbook after Brian Grandieri knocked down two free throws to make it 71-70.
It was that kind of night on both sides. Grandieri pumping himself up after making some of the game's biggest shots. Dionte Christmas appearing on the verge of tears when he was told he fouled out, only to have the call changed.
In the end, the evening that belonged to Fran Dunphy turned into a party that will go all night for the Penn senior class. A much different feeling than the last time they left the Palestra after a Big 5 game.
Basketball is funny sometimes. Consider the what-ifs.
What if Temple didn't miss four layups in the first half?
What if Mark Tyndale hadn't gone for the steal on Grandieri and committed his fifth foul, putting Grandieri on the line?
What if Dion Dacons had been able to stay out of Zoller's way on his desperation three-point attempt?
Then losing to Temple four times would have been one of the most heartbreaking things. Probably more heartbreaking with the way the last two years had gone.
Instead, 1,509 days after last beating Temple, there was only jubilation in the Penn locker room.
They'd finally done it.
Zachary Levine is a senior mathematics major from Delmar, N.Y., and is former Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is zlevine@sas.upenn.edu.
