Same result sends Hoops teams different ways

Men: One win not enough NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Penn men's basketball team expected to boast an undefeated conference record at the conclusion of its inaugural Ivy League weekend. After accomplishing part one of its plan Friday night by blowing away Brown (3-11, 0-2 Ivy) 75-58, Yale put a crimp in the Quakers' final phase and squeaked out a 71-70 overtime victory. The loss for the Quakers (4-8, 1-1), who three days earlier had suffered a tough defeat at the hands of local rival Temple, 67-58, was especially devastating because Penn had several chances to win the game. Missed shots and costly turnovers, especially one by Garett Kreitz with 30 seconds left in regulation, left the Quakers feeling like they handed the game to the Elis (5-8, 1-1). "We had our opportunities in regulation and in overtime to put Yale away, but we didn't convert them," Quakers coach Fran Dunphy said. Not to be denied, Yale continued to fight back and tied the contest at 62, thanks to a three pointer by Bulldog guard Matt Ricketts. Penn point guard Michael Jordan put the Quakers back on top when he drove the lane and converted a difficult layup with 1:12 left on the clock. The Penn defense was then called upon to preserve the win. Dunphy and his Quakers had to feel confident about sneaking out of John L. Lee Amphitheater victorious, especially considering the Elis were minus their captain and starting point guard Gabe Hunterton due to a sprained ankle and without their leading scorer, senior center Emerson Whitley, who fouled out of the game with six minutes left in regulation. The only offensive weapon Yale had in its arsenal was Ricketts. The 6'2'' freshman from Sturgis, Ky., had already torched Penn for 21 points including six three-pointers. Dunphy, who threw a combination of Quakers at Ricketts, called Jordan's number one last time. The move worked and Ricketts forced a desperation three-pointer with the shot clock winding down. Penn's Kreitz grabbed the long rebound and dribbled across the mid-court line. In an attempt to avoid an onslaught of defenders (two with a third on his way), he briefly exposed the ball and Ricketts, who originally had intended to foul Kreitz, stole the ball and sprinted down the court to convert an easy layup. Penn's lone senior starter was beside himself after the game about this particular play. "We were up two with about thirty seconds left and I let the kid steal the ball and get a wide open layup for the tie so it definitely cost us the game," Kreitz said. Kreitz's error hurt Penn. It was by no means the final nail in the coffin, but the most visible in a string of errors. The Quakers still had 22 seconds to win the game in regulation, but Matt Langel's running jumper with the clock expiring rimmed in and out. In overtime, Penn jumped out to a three point edge on a trey by Langel. But this bucket at the 4:37 mark would be one of only two shots the Quakers would connect with in the extra period. Two layups by Yale allowed the Elis to reclaim the lead, and with just over one minute remaining Yale had managed to build a four-point cushion. The lead was promptly cut to 71-70 when the Quakers' Jed Ryan nailed his third three of the game. After Ricketts missed his first attempt on a one-and-one from the foul line, Ryan had another opportunity to take a wide-open three-pointer but passed it up and opted for an unsuccessful difficult jumper in the lane. Once again Penn fouled Yale and junior Bulldog David Tompkins, a 75 percent shooter from the charity stripe, missed both attempts. Six seconds was all that remained, and without any timeouts Penn pushed the ball up the court and found Kreitz wide open for a three pointer from the right corner. It was not to be Kreitz's night. The Cresskill, N.J., native's attempt for redemption following his earlier faux pas was off the mark. Kreitz finished the night connecting on only 1 of 6 three-point attempts and with a total of five points. "It was a tough night for Garett," Dunphy said. "Normally we depend on his perimeter game to lift us, but it wasn't there tonight." Yale controlled the entire first half, leading 35-33 at halftime. It wasn't until the clock read 8:14 that the Red and Blue jumped out to their first lead, 55-54. Spurred by Quaker forward Paul Romanczuk, who netted 11 of his 15 points in the second half, Penn built a five-point lead (60-55) with four minutes remaining. The bitter defeat at the hands of Yale came one night after Penn had used a 27-4 run in the first half to blow out the Bears 75-58. Excellent shooting by Jordan (8-9 for 18 points) and Jed Ryan (17 points) helped Penn jump out to a 38-19 lead at halftime. In addition, solid defense by the Quakers held Brown to 36 percent shooting for the contest. It is this same defensive pressure and intensity that Penn hopes to repeat when it faces off against Lafayette (5-9) tonight in the Palestra at 7:30 p.m.

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