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Senior guard Ibrahim Jaaber had six points and two assists in the final five minutes to lead Penn over La Salle last night.

Penn might not have played too many games like this in the last four years.

But that doesn't mean Ibrahim Jaaber hasn't.

The senior guard played plenty as fast as this one at Penn and in his previous basketball life.

"Playing in the parks back home - that's the pace we play at," Jaaber said.

"I'm comfortable at that pace," he said. "Over the summer, I worked out a lot at this pace, actually with a lot of guys from [La Salle] and Mark [Zoller]."

But is the pace enjoyable for everyone on the floor?

"Not for a guy like me," junior guard Brian Grandieri said. "Ibby thrives in it, but it's tough."

"We were running a little bit too much when we probably shouldn't have been running."

And like it or dislike it, the frantic pace didn't stop him from putting up 18 points, including some huge deuces down the stretch.

The numbers last night were staggering: Fifteen lead changes in the last 10 minutes of the game; six players with 17 or more points; seventy-one total field goals.

Now before you all read the next paragraph and start sending e-mails: Yes, I was at the Princeton game in 2005. But last night's was the most entertaining Penn game of the last four years.

Unlike when Princeton dominated the Quakers for 33 minutes back in '05 before blowing an 18-point lead, there was never a dull moment in this one. Even when Kevin Egee scored the first five points and La Salle looked lost, you knew this was going to be close.

When La Salle opened a 34-24 lead with a 10-0 run in 66 seconds, you didn't know that Jaaber was going to score the next seven - but maybe by this point in his career, you should have.

The pace was partially a result of bad defense, as head coach Glen Miller said after the game, and part unbelievable shot making.

Even after 38 minutes of running and gunning, the teams still had enough left for two minutes of basketball that were reflective of the entire game.

Darnell Harris drilled three-pointer after three-pointer. But each time Penn answered back, whether it was Zoller, Jaaber or Darren Smith. The biggest shot of the night may have belonged to Brian Grandieri, who banked it home and drew a foul, giving the Quakers a one-point lead.

Finally, it was a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

"The odds of winning the game when the other team scores 93 points are very slim," La Salle coach John Giannini said.

And the furious finish was different from most of the games that this core group has played.

The Temple game two years ago comes to mind, when Penn lost by one, going the final three minutes without a point. The pattern repeated in last year's Temple and St. Joe's games and even this year's Elon game.

But last night was more about who made the plays, rather than who didn't.

And as I finish this column, some three hours after the game ended, I think I might have finally caught my breath. This one was exhausting to watch.

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.

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