Just a night after securing its first conference win of the season, Penn took Cornell down to the wire at the Palestra before falling in anticlimactic fashion. With 2.7 seconds remaining, the Quakers were set to inbound the ball from the baseline, down 71-69. But they never got a chance at a last shot, as they suffered a five-second violation call just as Cameron Crocker inbounded to Darien Nelson-Henry underneath the basket, and the Big Red walked away with a 71-69 victory. With the loss, Penn sinks to 4-16 and 1-2 in Ivy League play.
THE GOOD: Three-point shooting gives Penn a chance to win.
Despite entering the game dead-last among the Ancient Eight in three-point field goal percentage, the Red and Blue lit Cornell up for 12 threes and shot exactly 50 percent from distance. It's become clear that giving minutes to Dau Jok and Patrick Lucas-Perry adds marksman accuracy to Penn's offense and complements Nelson-Henry's play inside. The two sophomore guards shot a combined 7-for-12 from the field, and Lucas-Perry led the Quakers in scoring with 14 points.
THE BAD: No inbound, no overtime.
The bad of this really starts before Penn even has a chance to inbound the ball. After Cornell scores with 10.5 seconds left to make the score 71-69, Cartwright drives the ball up the floor and takes the ball left, driving toward the basket. Just as he goes into the air for a leaning, left-handed layup, Jerome Allen calls timeout, leaving the Red and Blue just 2.7 seconds left. Why Allen didn't call timeout as soon as Cartwright crossed half-court is truly a mystery. Then, the play Allen draws up is fruitless, and Crocker fails to get the ball in. The Quakers' coaching staff needs to be better in the clutch for Penn to have a chance down the stretch.
THE UGLY: Fran the Man goes down again.
After missing eight games due to mononucleosis, Fran Dougherty went down with some sort of upper body injury in his second appearance since returning. He was later spotted wearing a sling with tape reaching from his upper arm to his wrist. No word on whether the junior forward will miss any time, but his absence would be a serious blow to Penn's chances to make a run in the Ivy League.
Follow along as the Quakers take on the Big Red at the Palestra and try to string together consecutive wins for the first time of the season.
With the Quakers coming off an upset win over Columbia to open their first Ivy weekend of the season, we take a look at who's hot–and who's not–as the Big Red come to town.
Three Up-
Miles Cartwright- The junior captain stepped up as a leader when the Red and Blue needed him the most Friday, pouring in eight points in the game's final two minutes to ensure that a nine-point second half lead wouldn't go to waste. Additionally, Cartwright was able to minimize his turnovers, a positive trend that he'll need to keep up against a Cornell team that averages seven steals a game.
Steve Rennard- After seemingly being left for dead, the junior was able to revitalize his season against Columbia. In 29 minutes of action, Rennard was able to score seven points on 2-4 shooting, including his first made three-pointer since a win over NJIT on Jan. 17th. If Rennard can maybe, just maybe, recapture his shooting touch from last year, the Quakers will only benefit from having yet another outside scoring threat.
Henry Brooks- Much like Rennard, Brooks was able to reverse an early-season bad habit on Friday night. In 28 minutes of action, the sophomore forward managed to keep himself out of foul trouble against Columbia's rangy big men, hearing only two calls against him on the night. Additionally, he showed some nice range in going 2-for-4 from the field, including one shot that was just inside the three-point line.
Three Down-
Patrick Lucas Perry's minutes, again- Where was he? If people thought that PLP had turned the corner after his sterling performance against Temple, they were wrong. Lucas-Perry received 15 minutes of playing time, but it seemed like far less, as he never seemed to establish much of a presence for himself on the court. The sophomore wound up going 0-for-2 from the field, and only managed to pick up a single rebound.
Every freshman not named Darien Nelson-Henry- It was a rough night for most of the Quakers' youngsters. Jamal Lewis tallied one assist, two turnovers, and a whopping three fouls in only seven minutes of action, earning him a comfortable spot on the bench. Tony Hicks scored eight points, but went 1-for-5 from the field. And, in keeping with tradition, Julian Harrell never even had a chance to take his warm-ups off.
The rims in the Palestra whenever Fran Dougherty shoots- Playing for the first time in a month following a bout with mononucleosis, the dynamic junior wound up going 1-for-5 from the field in 18 minutes off the bench, but his stat sheet could have looked a lot better. Dougherty had shot after shot take the exact wrong bounce at the exact wrong time, spoiling some sharp inside post and isolation moves by the athletic forward.
10 points for Fran Dougherty – UNDER
Fran won’t see significantly more minutes just a day after returning to the floor, which is bad news for his point totals. Doc will need to get into a rhythm as the season goes on, but he’ll also have to do it, at least for now, in limited minutes. He looked off, with a lot of the shots that were falling consistently for him in the early part of the season just rimming out on Friday.
10 minutes for Jamal Lewis – UNDER
I’m thinking with my heart more than my head here, because unless you turn in a performance like Lewis did on Friday (two turnovers, three personal fouls) in the seven minutes of playing time that he received against the Lions, it’s hard not to get at least 10 minutes on the floor when you’re the team’s starting point guard.
But Tony Hicks was passing rather effectively last night, even though some opportunities didn’t get converted, and if Jerome Allen pulls Lewis out of the starting five, he won’t get 10 minutes on the court.
10 assists for the Quakers – OVER
Last night was pretty pathetic from a passing perspective, as the Quakers only had six assists the entire night. That won’t be good enough as they go into the rest of the Ivy schedule, and I think they can amend their issues.
Darien Nelson-Henry is getting better every game, and the better that he gets, the more attention that will be focused on him, thus allowing openings around the perimeter, and space for guards to drive and dish.
FIve offensive rebounds for the Quakers – OVER
Last night’s abysmal performance on the boards won’t be repeated again. While Fran is still finding his shooting touch, his timing on the defensive end last night wasn’t terrible, and it’s bound to improve going forward.
Five blocks combined for Dougherty and Nelson-Henry – Under
Last night, Fran and DNH both had monster blocks that really helped Penn maintain momentum going forward. The chances of that happening again this season are relatively low, which is a shame for fans. While DNH has surged on the offensive end of the floor, defensively he has struggled at times, so being able to see him rise up and almost throw one out of bounds should give fans hope, but their combined five blocks last night was a fluke more than anything.
Penn (7-8, 0-1 Ivy) will head to Cornell (10-6, 2-0) Saturday night as the Ivy League season kicks into full gear. Cornell coach Dayna Smith has been with the team for 10 seasons and is already the winningest coach in program history. Prior to taking over for the Big Red, Smith spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Penn. I spoke with Coach Smith about Cornell’s season so far and what the matchup with Penn will mean to both teams.
What led you to Cornell after three seasons with Penn?
Smith: I was able to work at Penn for three seasons under Kelly Greenberg and she did a fantastic job with the program and we were able to win a championship. I was there for Penn’s first women’s basketball Ivy League championship. It was just a tremendous experience as my first job in the Ivy League being able to work with the type of student-athlete. We had a well-balanced team with some players that are probably still on the record-books. It was my second stint as an assistant after I spent three years at my alma mater at Rhode Island. Because of our success I was fortunate enough to be able to get the Cornell job.
What have you thought about your season so far?
Smith: We have a veteran team with nine seniors and juniors. You can just tell the experience and the amount of leadership we have is the big difference for us from last season. I’ve been very happy with where our team has been. We had one big letdown against Bucknell. That was a game where everything went wrong and everybody played poorly. You hope to have only one of those a year and hopefully we got that out of our system.
As of late, we’ve been playing good basketball. We played a very scrappy, physical Columbia team in back-to-back weekends and were able to come out of that type of environment with a double-overtime victory on Saturday. We were able to get two Ivy League wins right off the start and be able to win on the road. That’s always tough in this league. We’re excited for these back-to-back night games. We have two forwards that are our leading scorers and our point guard leads the league in assists.
How does everyone match up in the Ivy League this year?
Smith: The league looks very tough. I think everyone has improved. Obviously, until someone knocks off Princeton, they’ll be the cream of the crop. In preparing this week for them, they just look good. They have talent in every position and they’re skilled in every position. They really don’t have a weakness and that just makes it very difficult to scheme and prepare. I’ve been most impressed with their defense. That’s going to be a challenge for anyone. When you look at the league, Penn is having a very good year. You can see their maturity in their players. You can see them developing that experience and that familiarity with one another.
Obviously, Alyssa Baron is a fantastic offensive player and I think she’s starting to have pieces around her. If you can bring in a player of her caliber and surround them with people that can score or penetrate and be able to kick to her and be able to score inside for her. That’s when you’ll have success and you can definitely see Penn is starting to develop that. Harvard has a terrific team and Dartmouth was able to knock them off. I think what you see in the league is anyone can beat anyone on any given night. That sounds cliché but it is something we preach and something we believe in.
How does Penn matchup with Cornell?
Smith: I don’t subscribe to the statistics of former years. I think in any home Ivy League game you give the home team a few point advantage but we need to play solid basketball for 40 minutes. Penn is very physical and scrappy and they like to have a lot of movement and motion on offense. They try to play up-tempo and we like to play up-tempo so we’re going to have to play solid defense. We’re going to have to understand where their shooters are and play perimeter penetration defense. We need to keep our composure because Penn does like to get in your face and play physical. That’s something we’ve gotten used to from a lot of Ivy teams but from Penn in particular.
For us, we’re going to have to have a good game against Princeton on Friday and bounce back on Saturday regardless of the outcome and be ready to play a whole different game plan. I think that’s a challenge for every Ivy team on that Saturday game. We’re glad we won’t be on a bus driving here Friday night but I think that might be a slight advantage being at home. Penn will be fresh and hopefully we’ll be ready for that game as well. I think you’re looking at Alyssa Baron leading the way and we have to contain her by playing team defense. We’re not a very good one-on-one defensive team, we like to play team defense and that’s going to have to be in effect in order to slow her down.
THE GOOD– Miles Cartwright's Late Poise
With everything on the line, the Quakers' captain stepped up when they needed him the most. After a Brian Barbour three tied the game and sucked the energy out of the Palestra, the junior coolly sank a jumper from the left elbow with 25.1 seconds left to give Penn a 58-56 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. In addition Cartwright went 4-for-4 from the line after the Lions attempted to turn the game into a foul-fest to eliminate any hope of a miraculous Columbia comeback. Cartwright went a perfect 10-for-10 from the line on the night, scoring a game high 21 points on 6-for-14 shooting.
THE BAD– Darien Nelson-Henry's interior defense
Though the stat sheet may show four blocks for DNH on the night, it doesn't even begin to tell the story of the freshman's night. Going against 6-foot-9 senior Mark Cisco, Nelson-Henry got consistently torched in the second half, surrendering 12 points to the Lion on 5-for-6 shooting. It seemed as if Nelson-Henry was never able to locate the Columbia leader in space, frequently leaving-him wide open for easy baseline jump shots. Cisco wound up being the game's most efficient scorer, helping the Lions claw their way back from a nine-point second half deficit in a game that the Quakers could have put to bed early.
THE UGLY– Columbia's three-point shooting
The Lions were dreadful from distance all night long, closing out the game with a woeful 3-for-17 performance. Though Brian Barbour was able to cause some late fireworks with his game-tying trey, it was the only long-distance shot that he was able to convert, as the senior finished 1-for-5 on the night, a huge step down from his typical standards. Barbour didn't receive much support from his teammates, as freshman Grant Mullins went 1-for-7, junior Alex Rosenberg went 1-for-3 and freshman Maodo Lo went 0-for-2. If Columbia had been able to get its outside scoring at all, perhaps they would have escaped from the Palestra with a win.
Follow along as the Quakers get going after nine days away from game action and look to win their Ivy home opener against Columbia.
Penn men's basketball will hold its annual alumni game tomorrow from 4-5 p.m., before the Quakers take on Cornell at 7. More than 65 alums are slated to appear for the alumni event as a whole, and they'll also be honored throughout the game Saturday night. Recent stars such as Rob Belcore (W' 12) and Mark Zoller (C' 07) will be attendance in addition to older standouts like Keven McDonald (C' 78) and Tony Price (C' 79).
The Herald Sun and Sydney Morning Herald have both reported that former Penn basketball player Ibby Jaaber (C' 07) has quit his Lithuanian professional basketball team Zalgiris Kaunas after complaining that raunchy cheerleader routines during timeouts and players' jerseys displaying logos of alcohol brands.
"I understand that maybe I will never earn money from basketball because of this decision, but I am ready to do such a sacrifice for my beliefs," Jaaber said.
Zalgiris spokesman Almantas Kiveris reportedly said Jaaber quit the team after he was benched in a recent game.
The club also said Jaaber vowed not to play on any other European team, adding his decision had taken them by surprise as all the conditions and rules of his employment were made clear in his contract.
Neither Jaaber nor Zalgiris has characterized his departure as a retirement at this time. Stilll, Jaaber was having a solid season for a team relying on his production - he was averaging 5.9 points and an impressive 1.93 steals per game in Euroleague this season for Zalgiris, which is just 1-4.
Jaaber had previously played for Bulgaria's national team.
In anticipation of Fran Dougherty's return to the Penn lineup after an eight-game absence due to mononucleosis, we bring you 30 seconds with the Franimal in a rapid-fire discussion of yachts, nicknames, hypothetical biopics and more.
Do you play a musical instrument?
Yes, I do.
What instrument?
Guitar.
You've been give a yacht. What will you name it?
The Voyager.
Favorite class you've taken at Penn?
Environmental case studies.
If you could win any award, what would it be?
Probably the Nobel Peace Prize.
Best nickname you've ever been given?
I'd have to say "Fat Fran" from Tyler Bernardini.
If a biographical film was made about your life, who would you want to play the role of you?
I'd want Jim Carrey.
Penn starts six straight weekends of Ivy League back-to-backs on Friday against Columbia. The Quakers (3-15, 0-1 Ivy) have won three consecutive games against the Lions (7-7, 1-1 Ivy) and are looking for their first Ivy win of the year.
In this edition of Behind Enemy Lines, I spoke with Columbia senior and men’s basketball radio announcer Sam Tydings (for those wondering, yes, he is my brother). He also writes a biweekly column on Lions sports for the Columbia Spectator. We spoke about Columbia’s recent split of their home and home with Cornell and what it is like to cover Columbia athletics for WKCR.
Columbia beat Villanova on Nov. 20 in Philadelphia. How would you say the Lions have lived up to the buzz that came after that upset?
Tydings: I think that they play a lot better on the road than at home, which is curious, especially for a team in the Ivy League. They’ve won games on the road like at Villanova and a couple of their other non-conference games, but they’ve had a lot of games where they have just failed to execute plays. They lost the Elon game on a three pointer at the buzzer, they lost to Bucknell after they had a big first half lead. Marist, too, was another close game that they lost at the end, and then Cornell on Saturday. It was a huge crowd, and they completely laid an egg in the first half.
What were the expectations for the Lions in Ivy play and how did the loss to Cornell affect them?
Tydings: I think that the expectations were that Harvard and Princeton are the top tier, and that Columbia is a definitive No. 3, and are better than the teams below them. But the loss to Cornell really hurt. They really needed to come out and sweep that opening series. The fact that they didn’t means that if they don’t go 3-1 or 4-0 over the next two weeks, with Princeton on Saturday and Harvard the week after that, then they just are not going to win the league and to be eliminated in the third week of Ivy play would be a huge disappointment. The expectations, at least amongst the coaches and the players, were that they could win the league this year, and they still can. But because they lost to Cornell, it is a real uphill battle.
Last season, Columbia lost a lot of close games in Ivy League play. How have they done in those situations this season, and how do you think they can improve upon them compared to last season?
Tydings: The Villanova game was closer until late in the second half, and they did a great job of putting it away with some defense, with something like 18 straight free throws, but they’ve lost a lot of close games, especially at home. With the Elon game, they had a two point lead and [senior guard] Brian Barbour was at the line for a one and one. Barbour has been close to 90 percent free throw shooting, but he missed, and the rebound was tipped out of bounds to Columbia. So [sophomore guard Steve] Frankoski had a one and one, he missed, and Elon hit a three. Even in the game against Cornell, they went 1-for-5 from the free throw line in the first half. They’ve just had these weird slip-ups at home that have cost them these close games. They’re not really turning the ball over. They’re not really blowing assignments on defense. They just need to execute.
What are your thoughts on Penn this season and the fact that Fran Dougherty is coming back against Columbia?
Tydings: I think the fact that he’s back is going to be a real big boost for them. I talked to [Columbia coach] Kyle Smith earlier and I basically asked him, “Penn’s been really bad this year. Are you worried that this is a trap game?” and he brought up the fact that they’ve played really well recently. They hung with Temple for a while. They didn’t play really well against Princeton, but some of these other non-conference games, they’ve been able to hang around or been able to win, and they aren’t on the big losing streak anymore, obviously. The fact that they’re at home, with the Palestra such a tough place to play for a road team, and Columbia has three or four freshman that will be playing significant minutes in their first time at the Palestra. Based off non-conference play, you would think this would be a blowout for Columbia but I think this is going to be a really close game. I would not be surprised if Penn won.
What is it like to cover a Penn-Princeton back to back weekend for WKCR?
Tydings: I haven’t done it before, so this is a first time thing for me. We are heading to Penn Friday afternoon, driving back that night, and going to Princeton the following day. I know the team is going to Penn and staying overnight somewhere in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey area and then heading to Princeton the next day. For us, it is just a lot of driving, but for the players I’m sure it’s a lot easier to stay overnight instead of going back and forth. I was told today that if [Columbia] wins on Friday night, they are going to go and get celebratory cheese steaks, so that will give them a little extra incentive to play well against Penn.
As an announcer also for Columbia football, what is it like covering a game like Harvard’s 69-0 victory over Columbia, where you go up to Harvard and it is a blowout early on?
Tydings: I always say that blowouts are the toughest games to call because it really tests your pregame preparation. You need to know some other things to talk about other than the actual game. I just remember with the game that it was over by halftime, it was something like 42-0, so [WKCR announcer] Nick Bloom and I were just throwing out things like which players on Columbia’s roster we thought should get more playing time, what the game meant for the team going forward. You need to find other storylines to talk about. I mean, it’s difficult and it’s frustrating when you drive four-and-a-half hours each way and you call a football game that’s over 20 minutes in, but everyone who has announced games has had games like that.
What has been your favorite moment covering Columbia athletics over the past four years?
Tydings: You are really making me dig deep for this one. I can give you a couple. My freshman year, I covered a double overtime women’s basketball game in the year where Columbia’s women’s team won the most games in school history. Their star player hurt her knee at the end of regulation, and came back in overtime and hit a big bucket, which was really exciting.
Baseball, my freshman year, the team had a walk-off hit against Penn to clinch home-field advantage for the Ivy League championship series, so I got to be on the call for that one. And for football, the “win or go winless” Saturday at the end of last year, where they beat Brown in double overtime to avoid going 0-10. It was the only overtime game I called as an announcer in football and it was a lot of fun. College overtime is kind of hokey, but it is really fun as an announcer.
Penn women's basketball survives double overtime thriller against Princeton, 61-59
Feb. 1, 2005
In a nail-biter characterized by intensity, Penn women's basketball escaped Jadwin Gym after Princeton freshman Meagan Cowher (daughter of Bill Cowher) clanged two straight free throw attempts late to help give the win to the Quakers.
The game was tight throughout, with neither team able to seize more than an eight point lead. The Quakers struggled inside, but the Tigers still led by just five at halftime. The contest was knotted up at 51 at the end of regulation, and when end of the first overtime ended in a 55-55 tie, an additional five minutes were needed to determine which squad would leave Jadwin Gym with bragging rights.
In the end, it was the emotional toughness of the Quakers, as well as some timely shooting from beyond the arc, that helped Penn improve its record to 10-6 on the season, and sealed a 3-0 start in Ivy League play.
Penn senior Karen Habrukowich scored 21 points, and made five clutch three-pointers. Senior Cat Makarewich and sophomore Joey Rhoads each made three three-pointers for the Quakers, and ended the game in double figures.
Both teams committed too many unnecessary fouls as exhaustion and intensity mounted. While the Tigers limited Penn to 35 percent shooting inside the arc and kept center Jennifer Fleischer scoreless, they also were whistled for 16 personal fouls.
The Quakers were also called for 22 fouls. Starting forward Monica Naltner was limited to 28 minutes, and fouled out of the game in overtime.
Though the game was sloppy, the Quakers prevailed. Exactly three weeks later, Penn defeated Princeton again, this time at the Palestra. The team finished 8-6 in the Ivy League that season.
This week, we feature the one of the captains of the women's ice hockey team at Penn, Alyssa Eng, who takes us onto the ice and into her sport.
What drew you to women's hockey?
Eng: I played a little bit of pond hockey growing up, and always loved it though I never got into organized hockey. When I came to college I thought it would be a lot of fun to pick up. It's just a fun game, and I love skating.
How similar is it to the men's game?
Eng: Women's hockey, like many other sports with men's and women's teams, holds variations but are basically the same game at heart. I suppose the biggest one would be that there is no checking in women's hockey.
This year, the team has done very well, while last year was another story, when you played Division 1. Is the drop off of talent that big between D1 and D2, or has the team gotten significantly better since last year?
Eng: Our team has improved a lot this year, due to a great group of talented
girls who joined this year, in addition to building on a great team chemistry we had last year. Our team is very close, and I think that friendship helps us when we play. In addition, our team expanded from about 12 girls last year to about 24 this year, with many who had played throughout high school, though we did take beginners. This means we can field a full team every game, with many experienced players.
Two years ago we were in the D1 and did poorly, due to the size of the team being about 10 girls and without an experienced goalie. Last year we moved down to D2 and came in second, so we are always improving. I wouldn't say that the talent level is a huge drop off between the divisions, I mean there is a step up, but the schools in the D1 have more consistant hockey programs in terms of their size and talent. We are thinking of joining the D1 for next year as we now have the numbers and experience.
Walk us through a typical practice. What types of drills do you do? How exhausting is practice?
Eng: We practice twice a week. Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons. We get out, stretch, do skating drills to warm up, warm up our goalies, and start to do drills, scrimmages, and games to fill the rest of practice. Each practice is different based on what the coaches think we should work on. Some days we focus more on breakout drills, others on shooting drills, and others on passing drills. I wouldn't ever call it exhausting, we try to keep in shape. Some practices are more intense than others. One of our coaches likes to skate us a lot more, but it's always a nice workout.
What's the best moment that you remember happening while you were on the team?
Eng: On ice, I would say when we beat Rutgers for the first time this year. It was an intense game, and it was very close for the first two periods. They were kind of our rivals from last year, and we lost to them in the finals, so it was great to get a win this year. Off ice, one of the girls on the team got a puppy this year, and she came to one of our games as our team mascot. It was amazing.
Finally, what would you say to someone who thinks hockey is just for guys?
Eng: I would say they should come to a practice and try it out! Assuming they were a girl of course. And in the wise words of the Spice Girls: Hi cee ya hold tight. Girl power. Zig a zig ahhh. Hockey is a great sport and so much fun to play. It really is for everyone.
The Quakers' 23-game winning streak at Dartmouth snapped January 31, 2009
When’s the last time you can remember Penn men's hoops having a winning streak of over 20 games?
From the 1997 season until January 31, 2009, Penn had a 23-game winning streak over Dartmouth. But on that night, the Quakers lost 63-60 to the Big Green in a huge upset.
The night before, the Red and Blue beat Harvard 66-60 for their first Ivy game of the 2008-2009 season, holding off the League’s top scorer at the time, Crimson junior guard Jeremy Lin.
But on that night, Penn’s defense had no answer for Dartmouth’s Alex Barnett, who went on to be Ivy League Player of the Year.
With 24 points, the senior forward blew Penn out of the water.
The night started out looking hopeful. The Quakers were up 56-48 with 5:24 left after sophomore guard Tyler Bernardini sank two free throws, extending a nine-point run for Penn.
Yet the lead slipped all too quickly through the Red and Blue’s fingers as Dartmouth came back to score 15 of the last 19 points in the game.
After a Dartmouth timeout, Barnett drove the game in Big Green’s favor. The scoreboard finally broke even when Big Green senior forward Dan Biber was fouled on a layup and sank a free throw, tying the game at 60-60.
Biber complemented Barnett well for Dartmouth, taking 17 points on the game. His final three points came from outside the paint, capping the game at 63-60 for Dartmouth and reminding the Quakers that they were only just starting Ivy play.
-by Danielle Chuang
Nothing in the world
Strengthens a triceps greater
Than Ray's antler spray
Life's biggest question
Is who we want to emerge
victor: Jim or John?
We're 3-15
But Columb'ia ain't no Princeton
Ancient Eight? Let's go.
Mike Wisniewski co-wrote this week's haikus.
Penn men's basketball topples the Princeton Tigers, 64-46, on its way to an undefeated Ivy season.
January 30th, 1993
One of the sweetest moments for any team is when they can come together and prove the critics who doubted them wrong. From the opening tip-off in a packed Palestra on that Saturday night, the Quakers did just that.
Penn (10-4 overall, 3-0 Ivy) pummeled the Tigers (10-5, 2-1) all over the court on their way to a decisive 64-46 victory. Before the game, the Quakers side was heavily criticized and labeled "too soft" following back-to-back losses to Big 5 foes Temple and St. Joseph's.
Against Princeton, however, the Red and Blue was anything but soft. In front of a sold-out crowd of 8,700 raucous fans (the Palestra's first sell-out since 1984), the Quakers dominated every aspect of the game. Penn held a 34-18 advantage on the boards while also shooting a lights-out 54.3 percent from the field and only committing four turnovers.
The stellar backcourt tandem of sophomores Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney (both would go on to be three-time First-Team All-Ivy during their college careers) highlighted the Quakers' fantastic performance. Allen put up 11 points and dished out 7 assists, while Maloney led all scorers with 18 points along with 5 assists.
At halftime, the game was still very tight, with Princeton holding a slim 26-25 advantage. But the Quakers stormed away in the second period by playing nearly flawless basketball and outscoring the Tigers 39-20 to finish out the game.
By beating Princeton at home, Penn reclaimed its title as the premier basketball program in the Ivy League. The Red and Blue used that momentum to run the Ivy League table and finished with a perfect 14-0 Ivy record on the season, ending Princeton's streak of four consecutive league titles.
The matchup was a battle of two legendary coaches. Of course, current Temple coach Fran Dunphy led the Quakers from the sidelines. Dunphy has the second-most wins of any Ivy League coach in history. The only Ivy League coach with more all-time victories? The man standing across from Dunphy that night, Princeton's head coach Pete Carril (famed for perfecting the Princeton offense).
In my recent profile of Greg Louis, I included an anecdote from the Penn forward's high school days, when his squad took on Austin Rivers and Winter Park High School in the high-profile City of Palms tournament. Rivers, a Duke-bound combo guard and eventual No. 10 NBA Draft pick, erupted for 42 points, including five consecutive three-pointers.
Though it wasn't Dwyer's best game, it's worthwhile to watch the highlights to play the "Hey, I see Greg!" game. (He's wearing No. 23 for the Dwyer Panthers, who are in white). Additionally, the video gives a sense of the type of competition some of Penn's athletes faced in high school. And though the video doesn't show it, Louis poured in 19 points to go along with nine rebounds in the 76-64 loss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtHvTSIcr0c
Despite the defeat, Louis spoke very positively about the experience of playing against Rivers:
It was actually encouraging playing him because before the game there was so much hype around him, but playing against him you realized it wasn’t, I don't know, magic — it wasn’t impossible to stop him. We didn’t accomplish it, but it seemed like he had just worked really hard at his craft and he was good because he worked at it.
Dwyer went on to finish the season 33-2 and capture the Florida class 5A state title. Meanwhile, Winter Park won the class 6A state championship in the Sunshine State and concluded the year 28-6. Interestingly enough, Dwyer received a No. 7 national ranking from Max Preps, while Winter Park came in at No. 90, so perhaps the Panthers had the last laugh after all.
With Super Bowl week in full swing, it's worth noting what the Penn football team is up to this offseason. Specifically, three seniors and their plans for an extra season at Franklin Field.
If seniors Billy Ragone, Brandon Colavita and Lyle Marsh have it their way, they'll be back on the field for the 2013 season as fifth-year seniors. Ragone missed his freshman campaign with a shoulder injury, Colavita was out most of last season and Marsh missed much of his sophomore and junior seasons. While Ragone and Marsh have had time to plan their academic schedules in order to gain a fifth year of eligibility from the Ivy League, Colavita has had less time to plan. But according to Penn Associate Director of Communications Eric Dolan, all three plan to apply but have not officially submitted anything to the league.
The trio will have to wait several months before they find out if they can play another season. Official paperwork does not go to the Ivy League until later this semester, and the athletes won't hear from the league office until May — at the earliest. Penn wide receiver Joe Holder, Class of 2012, didn't hear from the Ivy League regarding his fifth-year status until August, just weeks before the season started officially. And Cornell lacrosse player Rob Pannell, who broke his foot in the second game of his season last spring, was approved by the Ivy League in early August.
Though we didn’t have any meets or stay in any ghostly hotels, we were haunted by a very intense week of training that seemed to drag on forever.
Our season is coming to a close in the near future, so this is the time to get in some of our last hard work outs before we begin to rest for Ivies. Tensions are running high as both the men and women await the announcement of the 18 individuals on either team who will be members of the championship team.
However, some swimmers have nothing to fear. On the men’s side, freshman Charlie Carr, who is from my hometown (Brewster, NY), just secured his spot on the Ivy team. #Brewsterpride
Carr is now diving in addition to swimming, and since there are only two divers besides Carr and three Ivy spots for divers, he is secure in his position. Such a diverse athlete - he came here to run, then decided to walk on to the swim team, and is now going to be diving as well.
Other current controversies include the struggles of freshman trying to balance Greek life and athletics. While this is much easier for the women whose pledging is less intensive, it is nearly impossible for the freshman boys to pledge a frat. Not wanting to jeopardize a spot on the Ivy team, no men decided to go Greek this year. However, two of our freshman girls are giving it a shot!
Finally, everyone should check out the event that Penn’s Athletics Eco-Reps and Wharton’s Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership are hosting with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). It will be on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 6pm in Bodek Lounge at Houston Hall. Speakers will endorse more eco-friendly management of athletic facilities and the role of athletes in this process.
As the men's and women's basketball teams rested this weekend, a number of other Penn teams went to battle fighting for wins against tough opponents. The Red and Blue came up big, with significant victories in track and field, fencing and wrestling. For recaps of these matchups and more, look no further than this week's edition of Weekend Wrap.
Wrestling
Facing No.8 ranked Cornell on Saturday, the wrestling squad fell to the Big Red for the 11th consecutive meeting. Although the matchup was closer than the 24-9 scoreline indicates, the Quakers could not hold off its Ivy League rival. Led by sophomore C.J. Cobb, Penn rebounded nicely on Sunday, taking down Bucknell, 23-10.
Big Red aura overwhelms Quakers
Men's track and field
Two weeks ago, the Penn men's track and field team finished in second place in a meet at the Armory in New York. On Saturday, the men returned to the track and demolished the competition, winning the meet by 25 points over Army. The Red and Blue received strong performances from Semi Ibikunle, Kirk Webb, Tim Carey and Thomas Pitt, and look to build on its recent string of outstanding performances this coming weekend at Penn State University's Sykes Sabock Cup.
Penn track builds on its momentum and wins in New York
Gymnastics
The Penn gymnastics team scored its first victory of the season on Saturday, defeating Ivy League rival Yale 191.525-187.900. The matchup was the Quakers first dual meet of the season, and the team was led by seniors Dana Bonincontri and Kirsten Strausbaugh. The team's momentum continues to grow, and it will head head to Muncie, Ind., this Friday to take on Ball State.
BRIEF | Gymnastics sees dual meet success against Yale
Fencing
Penn's men's and women's fencing teams turned in performances on Saturday that seem to have solidified each team's mindset at this point in the season. As the men defeated Haverford, Sacred Heart and No. 9 Duke, they improved to 13-1 on the season and are in a position to compete for the Ivy League crown. On the other hand, the women fell to No.7 Northwestern and No. 9 Temple. While the team is strong. it continues to build, and it is clear that there is room for improvement before the Quakers can compete for an Ivy League championship.
Penn fencing confirms expectations at Philadelphia Invitational
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