1993-94 IVY LEAGUE M. HOOPS STANDINGS: Penn struggles in two victories

M. Hoops takes on Buffalo tonight When Columbia took the floor Friday night, almost everyone in attendance at the Palestra expected an easy victory for the Penn men's basketball team. After all, the Lions were decimated by graduation and the Quakers were coming off a victory over archrival Princeton. When Cornell hit the Palestra hardwood Saturday night, almost everyone in attendance expected an easy victory for Penn. After all, the Big Red was 0-5 in the Ivy League and the Quakers were 4-0 and in sole possession of first place. Expectations were great for the Quakers, but neither of Penn's victories were cakewalks. Both contests were close well into the second half as Penn beat the Lions, 67-55, and the Big Red, 70-59, this weekend. "Our record is good," Penn coach coach Fran Dunphy said. "There's no question about it -- we've won games. I still think we can play much more consistently and not have these stretches of games where we're not a very good basketball team. Were very good in some stretches, and not so good in others, and that concerns me." The Lions (6-12, 4-2 Ivy League) quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the Quakers remained cool. In typical fashion, they worked the ball inside to junior forward Shawn Trice and junior center Eric Moore down on the blocks. Columbia's center Steve Marusich and forward Jamal Adams each picked up two fouls early on. Marusich and Adams, who was named Ivy League Player of the Week after tallying 33 points, 22 rebounds and 13 assists against Brown and Yale the previous weekend, were forced to ease up on defense due to the foul trouble. A Trice dunk at the 15:34 mark brought Penn's lead to five and the crowd to its feet. It appeared as if the Quakers (14-2, 5-0) were going to pull away. However, Columbia did not fade and the teams traded baskets for much of the first half. Freshman C.J. Thompkins was especially effective for the Lions despite being guarded by junior guard Jerome Allen, who was hampered by a strained right shoulder throughout the game. His injury, sustained lifting weights Wednesday afternoon, is not very serious but did affect his ability to shoot over the weekend. Thompkins finished the night with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. "The pressure was on them," Thompkins said. "We had no pressure because we weren't supposed to be here in the first place." Columbia, who entered the game in first place in the Ivies with a perfect 4-0 record, stayed with Penn until the closing minutes of the first half. The Quakers, led by key passing by Allen, broke a tie three minutes before intermission and Pierce and Moore helped to increase the lead to seven as time expired. "I think near the end of the first half Jerome Allen realized it was serious and began to take over -- and he's exceptional when he does that," Columbia coach Jack Rohan said. "We made a couple of mistakes in that last minute which really hurt. Every time you give the ball to Penn, with their talent, it's a bad thing." Although the Quakers were leading at the break, as expected, they were surprisingly being outrebounded 23-13. Penn's front four of Pierce, Trice, Moore and sophomore forward Tim Krug combined for only four rebounds. "It was difficult for us because we were missing a lot of shots early on and we weren't getting to the boards at all," Pierce said. "I think coach said that we had two offensive rebounds in the first half. That's not our game. We crash the boards." In the second half, Penn's lead wavered between six and 14 points, but the Quakers never could completely pull away from the Lions. Pierce finished with 17 points, as did Maloney who also added six rebounds, five assists and five steals in a solid all-around effort. Penn vaulted to the top of the Ancient Eight with its victory Friday night, but it wasn't a blowout like many expected. The Quakers were will take the win, but they weren't satisfied with their less-than-spectacular performance. "I think the fact that they were 4-0 coming in was no accident, and I think they proved that tonight," Dunphy said following the Columbia contest. "I think we weren't as prepared as we should have been, but [the Lions] played well and they deserve a lot of credit." The Quakers weren't able to get things to click again on Saturday night. Penn's defense was tight, but the Quakers 13-point lead dwindled to only a six at the half. Penn was able to weather the storm after the break and the Quakers finally put Cornell (5-13, 0-6) out of it with a late second-half run. The 6,407 Palestra spectators witnessed an exciting confrontation in the second half between Krug and Cornell senior center Justin Treadwell. Treadwell leads the Ivies in scoring and rebounding and Krug has been a sparkplug off the bench for the Quakers this season. Krug almost single-handedly increased the Penn lead from three points to 12 at a key juncture in the second half. He dipped into his offensive arsenal and displayed his athleticism all over the court. Krug notched four quick points. He then utilized his patented three-point fake, and drove for the deuce and the foul. Krug punctuated his efforts with a thunderous dunk off a brilliant dish from a driving Allen. "Timmy is a talented athlete and I think he can be even better than the spurts that he has showed," Dunphy said. Krug wasn't the only player lighting it up on the offensive end. Unfortunately for Penn, Treadwell was putting on a show of his own and keeping Cornell within striking distance in the second half. Krug wasn't able to handle him down low and he made numerous layups and jump hooks. Treadwell also went outside and hit 2 of 5 three-pointers as he scored 19 of the Big Red's first 21 points of the second half. He shot 8 of 14 from within the line and posted 28 points and eight rebounds. "He's an experienced player who knows what he's doing out there," Dunphy said. "We've been playing against him for a couple of years now, so we should have been a little bit more prepared for some of the moves he was going to make." Junior guard Scott Kegler, who started for the third time this season due to Allen's injury, helped lead the Quakers to victory. Kegler has responded well to this challenge in the past at Ohio State and against La Salle, and he had another excellent performance against Cornell. He shot 3 for 4 from the floor, including 2 of 2 from three-point range, and had five assists with no turnovers against the Big Red. Like Friday's win against Columbia, the victory over Cornell was expected, but the actual contest was closer than many imagined. Penn moved into first place in the Ivy league, despite two inconsistent efforts. However, the Quakers will have to increase the level of their play if they hope to finish their season with another perfect Ivy record. · Penn faces Buffalo tonight at 7:30 p.m. (WOGL 1310-AM) at Alumni Arena in upstate New York. The Bulls are 13-5 overall, posting a 10-1 record in the East Coast Conference. Coming off two weekend games, the Quakers expect a tough contest from a solid opponent. "They're going to be athletic and they're going to be disciplined," Dunphy said. "I'm sure they are going to be ready for us."

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