Whereas Harvard Coach Tommy Amaker sat senior forward Keith Wright, the reigning Ivy Player of the Year, in the final minutes of Saturday’s game, Penn Coach Jerome Allen depended on his seniors for the win. And they stepped up. Especially Tyler Bernardini.

Saturday night was the culmination of an up-and-down 58 hours that had more flips and dips, more twists and turns, than a heart-stopping roller coaster — but it almost never was.

It all came down to star senior Zack Rosen. At the free-throw line with 23.2 seconds remaining and Penn down one, Rosen sunk both shots with ease, affording the Red and Blue a one-point lead.

At the free throw line with 12.6 seconds remaining and Dartmouth down one, Jvonte Brooks had a chance to tie the game at 55 for the Big Green.

It’s about time we caught Jeremy Lin fever. We put it off as long as we could, but the man is impossible to ignore.

Though many believe Saturday night’s vaunted rematch between Penn and Harvard could determine the fate of the Ivy League, men’s basketball coach Jerome Allen would say the Red and Blue’s most important game of the year comes a day earlier, against last-place Dartmouth.

After playing just 47 total minutes his freshman year, Steve Rennard has emerged as coach Jerome Allen’s go-to spark off the bench.

The guard play of the men’s basketball team, especially from Zack Rosen and Miles Cartwright, has added many dimensions to Penn’s offense.

Here’s a message for Tyler Bernardini: When you step off that bus in Hanover, N.H., Friday afternoon, do so without the intent to play against Dartmouth.

The DP sits down with Quakers’ recruit Darien Nelson-Henry and discusses his “big” impact on the program.

After barely escaping the Palestra with a weekend sweep of Cornell and Columbia, the Quakers have positioned themselves for a huge weekend road trip against Dartmouth on Friday and first-place Harvard on Saturday.

It hasn’t always been pretty and it certainly hasn’t been easy, but the Quakers have found ways to win close games this year — games they haven’t won in the past two seasons.

Every one of the 4,103 under those baby blue rafters knew whose hands would be trusted with the final shot: Zack Rosen. So, of course, it was Fran Dougherty, sweet baby Fran, who caught the inbounds pass from Miles Cartwright in midair and delicately kissed it off the glass for two points as the clock wound down to 0.5 seconds Saturday night against Columbia.

Miles Cartwright lofted a perfect inbounds pass with 1.5 seconds on the clock in overtime to Fran Dougherty under the basket, who got the alley-oop layup to give the Quakers a 61-59 victory over Columbia. SILCOX: Doc, at the buzzer

The last five minutes between Penn and Cornell saw lead change after lead change, with each respective fan group rising and falling with the arc of the basketball. In the end, it was the Quakers fans who had reason to celebrate, seeing the game effectively put away as Zack Rosen and Miles Cartwright hit huge three pointers back to back.

When the Quakers host Cornell and Columbia this weekend — two teams that Penn defeated on the road five weeks ago — they understand that Round Two will have a much different look. What happened last time has no bearing come Friday.

It is a shame that strides to increase student attendance at basketball games were trivialized by Eli Cohen in a column yesterday, where he unfairly criticized Penn students and the Red and Blue Crew with many unfounded claims.