In a previous basketball life, the scene might have made sense.
With Penn down almost 30 late in the second half against a Big 5 rival, Fran Dunphy, red in the face, smacks the scorer's table after one of his players is whistled for traveling. The crowd is so dead that it's impossible to miss the coach's corresponding obscenity.
Here's the problem: Dunphy, captain clipboard at the Palestra for 17 seasons until 2006, now stands some 20 yards left of his old bench - and some 27 points ahead of its current inhabitants.
Two years after dropping a last-second heartbreaker at the hands of his former employer, Dunphy led Temple to a 78-53 rout of the Quakers last night.
"It's not novel anymore," Dunphy said of his return, before acknowledging that he grew a little "whacked" even after the game was well in hand.
"It was almost too much to take two years ago. I'm not sure it was fair to those guys on the team. Tonight was much different. It was much, much easier this time around."
The Owls scored the game's first seven points and never trailed, sprinting to an 18-point halftime lead and cruising comfortably in the second frame.
"It seemed like we were overmatched from the outset," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "I can't reinvent the roster here. We're playing with who we have."
Standout senior Dionte Christmas was predictably stellar for Temple (9-6, 2-1 Big 5), drilling all five of his long-range attempts to lead an Owls squad that drilled 13 of 19 trifectas overall. Christmas finished with game-highs of 25 points and nine boards in just 27 minutes.
"It's not like we lost [track of] him," Miller said. "Guys that play at the next level can hit shots like that. We knew that and just couldn't stop him."
Less expected was the play of sophomore forward Craig Williams, who added five threes of his own en route to a career-high 17 points.
"When Craig's shooting the ball the way he is, it definitely opens up [the offense]," Christmas said.
Dunphy's praise was more backhanded.
"He still doesn't work hard enough, and I think he'll tell you that, too," said Temple's taskmaster. "While he'll never be the best athlete we have, he can be a very smart player."
Penn's chief offensive weapon, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found. Sophomore Tyler Bernardini, averaging 15 points per game entering last night, converted just two field goals in nine attempts. His first bucket came three minutes into the second half, with the Quakers (3-8, 0-2) already trailing by more than 20.
"I don't think [Temple did] anything, really. He had open looks," Miller said. "If there's a sophomore slump, he's in it."
Indeed, with a struggling sharpshooter, a rickety defense and another Big 5 blowout loss on their resume, the Palestra's present practitioners bear little resemblance to the perennial March Madness mainstay Dunphy left behind.
Still, for Penn's latest foil, the building - scorer's table and all - retains its resonance.
"It's always special to come here. It's a special place, the Palestra," Dunphy said.
"[But] time marches on."
