The Quakers surpassed their previous game's point total by halftime last night against Lafayette, but they were hardly in the mood to celebrate. In their first contest since the 26-point showing at Villanova on Saturday, the Quakers fell to the Leopards 71-56 at the Palestra, dropping to 3-5 as the team begins its two-week hiatus for finals.

With eight minutes remaining and his team trailing by 31 points to the No.1-ranked team in the country, freshman Remy Cofield finally got the call from coach Glen Miller to enter the game. Cofield was the tenth man off the bench on Tuesday. He got a quick steal for his only crooked number on the score sheet, but was taken out two minutes later.

The only two wins for the men's basketball team so far this season have been against military academies - The Citadel and Navy. That's just so un-American. If it hasn't already, the NSA should hurry up and get a wiretap in Glen Miller's house. In all seriousness, though, Penn's two lone victories highlight a jarring truth: This non-conference schedule is beating up on the Quakers.

Penn's sophomores have had a tough time establishing themselves this season. Forwards Andreas Schreiber and Justin Reilly have looked very good at some times, while at others they seem to be lost. And let's not forget about Darren Smith, who broke his kneecap in the season opener versus Drexel.

Though officially part of the Centennial Conference, the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats (4-3) have been the unofficial doormat of the Ivy League this year. After opening the season with four wins over non-Ivy opponents, the Diplomats enter tonight's match at Penn (1-3, 1-2 Ivy) having lost their last three matches to Dartmouth, Yale and Princeton by a combined score of 25-2.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams and Penn counterpart Glen Miller met at halfcourt just minutes before last night's game. The two shared an extended handshake on the sideline, exchanged jovial words and then bolted for their respective benches. That was as close as Penn would come to the Tar Heels all game.

Feisty terriers nibble away at Crimson BOSTON (AP) - Corey Lowe had 23 points to help Boston University snap a six-game losing streak with a 79-72 victory over Harvard last night. The Terriers have won 14 of the last 15 games in the series, with BU coach Dennis Wolff 13-1 against the Crimson.

The Quakers' standard response to the obligatory how-does-it-feel-to-play-a-top-ranked-team question had been taken as gospel: they would make a conscious effort not to think about how good the Tar Heels were. Seemed simple enough. But the verdict is in, by a 106-71 majority, on how well that worked out.

There's no place to go but up. After an embarrassing 66-26 loss to Villanova on Saturday, the women's basketball team is looking to rebound when it hosts the Lafayette Leopards (5-3) at the Palestra tonight. "We're anxious to show that we're not the team that we were against Villanova," junior Anca Popovici said.

Glen Miller's Quakers have always tried to play faster than their opponents, but against North Carolina, it was Penn who seemed to have its feet stuck in the tar. Every time Penn got a big basket, the Tar Heels were bolting down the court for a quick answer.

Wayne Ellington needs no introduction. In his second season, the North Carolina shooting guard has emerged as one of the best players in the country and will almost certainly suit up for an NBA team in the future. And while Ellington has started to become a household name, tonight will mark his return to the very stage on which he introduced himself to the nation: the Palestra.

Some coaches use an embarrassing loss as a motivator for a downtrodden squad. Other coaches scrutinize every last detail of the debacle on videotape to help discourage a repeat performance. Then there's selective amnesia. Following a thumping 66-26 defeat at Villanova on Saturday, Penn women's basketball seems to be leaning toward the latter option: removing the blowout from its mental filing system altogether.

Seniors Brian Grandieri and Michael Kach turn free-throw shooting into a friendly competition. In their spare time, the two roommates use the hoop behind their house; at practice, whoever plays worse buys the other dinner. If game performance is any indication, Kach has been enjoying a lot of free meals this year.

No NBA team has ever graced the Palestra floor. But tonight, the ancient arena might be seeing the next best thing. No. 1 North Carolina has three likely NBA first-rounders in its starting lineup and one of the most legendary figures in college basketball history at the helm.

The Penn wrestling team had hoped for success in the desert, but it came home with a valuable lesson instead of hardware. The No. 22 Quakers placed two wrestlers at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational en route to a 14th-place finish after taking third at the event last year.

VILLANOVA, Pa., Dec. 1 - Well, it's been worse. Against Villanova on Saturday, the Penn women's basketball team scored 26 points, the third-lowest output in team history. In a game that will take a place in the record books, the Quakers were handed a 66-26 loss by the sharp-shooting Wildcats (6-1).

The women's squash team was nothing short of dominant this weekend against two of its Ivy League foes. But according to Penn, there is still room for improvement and much more work is needed. On Saturday, the Quakers took on Yale, winning 7-2. And in the encore, they came back yesterday to face the Bears and were a perfect 9-0 for the day.