The Penn men's basketball team didn't know which Elon squad would show up on Thursday, but it certainly wasn't the one that lost to Division II Tusculum.
The Phoenix, which nearly beat Virginia Tech this season, hung tough for the majority of the game, but in the end Tyler Bernardini's 23 points (12 in the final five minutes) and tight defense on the final possession put Penn over the top, 67-64.
It was a back-and-forth contest for the first 30 minutes before the Quakers scored on three-straight possessions to go up by 10. But Ola Atoyebi (who played sparingly in the first half due to foul trouble) quickly brought Elon back with three consecutive baskets and tough inside defense.
Brett James capped off that 8-0 run to bring the score to 52-50, but that was the closest Elon would come.
Bernardini took a nice feed from Brian Grandieri for a three to put Penn up by six, and then the two connected a minute later, as the freshman's and-1 kept it at a two-possession game. Bernardini's free throws down the stretch (making 3 of 4) put Penn up three with under five seconds to go.
But Elon was left with the final shot.
Aron Cohen's clutch full-court defense on Montell Watson forced a three that never had a chance of going in, and the Quakers head into winter break with a win.
"We wanted to foul when the ball got over halfcourt," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "Aron made a good decision because he got over halfcourt, but he picked up his dribble, he didn't have anything going and that was just a prayer to make the three-point shot."
Cohen forced Watson to hesitate just enough so that the 4.7 seconds remaining wasn't enough to get a good look at the basket, and as Grandieri came to double, Watson was left with no choice but to heave a prayer.
The Quakers now get a nine-day break before ending 2007 against Florida Gulf Coast on December 29, and are pleased to have that sweet taste of success in their mouths.
"We're very happy to get the win, we're on a two-game winning streak," Miller said. "It's a modest two-game winning streak, but I think we're showing some improvement and it sure makes the holidays happy."
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