M. Hoops: one bucket shy of euphoria

After a 13-point second-half comeback, the Penn men's basketball team finished a buzzer-beater shy of shocking Princeton. No. 8-ranked Princeton entered the Palestra expecting a quiz. Instead, as the Tigers coach Bill Carmody put it bluntly, "We got a final examination!" Carmody must have forgotten to emphasize to his grade-inflated team that upon stepping onto Penn's campus, the curve is much tougher. It took a 78-72 overtime win in order for Princeton (26-1 overall, 14-0 Ivy League) to hold onto its pristine Ivy record. Penn (17-12, 10-4) had the opportunity to bring a much hyped Princeton team back down to earth in the final seconds of regulation. After the Tigers' James Mastaglio missed the second of two foul shots with 12.1 seconds remaining, the Quakers' sophomore guard Matt Langel ripped down the rebound and dribbled across the half court line before passing the ball to fellow underclassman Michael Jordan. With approximately eight seconds remaining, Jordan, who finished the night with 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds, faked left and then right to shake loose from Tigers guard Gabe Lewullis, got caught switching off and left him wide open for either a three or a long two. Jordan opted for the trey, which caught nothing but air. "Once they switched with Lewullis, I figured I could get a good shot off," Jordan said. "I pulled up. I think I faded back too far. I was expecting [Lewullis] to challenge it a little more than he did, but he faded way back and I just put to much on it." The opportunity to deflate Princeton only came after Penn put on a furious second half rally to even the contest in the waning seconds. Starting all four seniors, Penn fell behind early and Princeton sat on a fat 13 point lead at the intermission, 37-24. Penn used a 20-7 spurt in the initial eight minutes of the second half to tie the Tigers 44-44. From there through the end of regulation, Penn was never able to get over the hump and take a lead larger than two points. The foul trouble of Tigers center Steve Goodrich, who had a career-high 33 points against Penn on 11-of-13 shooting and 4-of-7 from behind the arc, gave the Quakers an opportunity to pound the ball inside on an undermanned Princeton. But during Goodrich's pine time, Penn was unable to capitalize. When the senior captain returned at the 5:31 mark, Penn was still down 55-51. The 44-44 tie ended up being the closest Penn would get until the clock showed 3:50 and the Quakers leveled the Tigers at 58. In those final three minutes Jordan bucketed six points on a deep trey and an incredible three-point play. In the possession moments before, junior Quaker Jed Ryan had a chance to give the Red and Blue its first lead. Ryan took a pass from Penn forward Paul Romanczuk, who was double-teamed. He appeared to have an easy layup when out of nowhere Lewullis -- who claims it was all adrenaline -- emphatically stuffed the junior's lay-in. Penn's final points in regulation came on a Langel layup. The drama unfolded when Ryan missed a trey from the top of the key. Jordan grabbed the offensive rebound and missed a layup. Finally Langel came up with another offensive board and put it in the hole to put Penn up 66-65. On the night, Penn outrebounded Princeton 39-26 and 12-2 on the offensive end. Princeton kept itself close in the final possessions courtesy of a Lewullis three, a key runner and some timely foul shots. The junior forward was the only counter to the Penn attack. "They hit some big shots down the stretch," Lewullis said. "We just couldn't get anything going in the second half until the end. You have to give a lot of the credit to Romanczuk, who played a hell of game." The junior Quaker forward nailed down 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and singlehandedly disposed of Goodrich. Countless lowpost moves by Romanczuk had the Tiger center flailing his arms and picking up four fouls in seven minutes. Adding another threat from down low was Penn forward George Mboya -- the junior finished with a season-high 10 points. After the game, Goodrich, surprised by Mboya's aggressiveness on the offensive end, credited Romanczuk with getting the Quakers back into the contest. He had expected more "twisting" from Romanczuk, but Penn's reliable low post threat scored at will using a variety of shake-and-bake moves. Despite the heroic effort of Romanczuk and his fellow Quakers, the game went to overtime, where the Red and Blue ran out of gas. After the team traded buckets to knot the score at 68 all, Princeton drove down the court, and the referees, who got whistle happy in OT, made a critical call. This time down Romanczuk picked up his fourth foul on a lame holding call that sent Goodrich to the foul line where he hit 1-of-2. Penn's ensuing possession resulted in senior co-captain Garett Kreitz throwing up an airball from downtown. The Tigers smelled blood and muted the raucous Palestra crowd when Lewullis, with 2:20 showing on the clock, scored a layup and was fouled by Romanczuk. The junior Tiger converted the three-point play and Romanczuk was done for the night. Penn, down 72-68, never recovered as the Tigers ran off six straight points in a matter of seconds. "I don't think any coach would tell you much about moral victories making you feel good," Dunphy said. "But I liked our team's effort and how they rose to the occasion tonight." And so closed another chapter in the storied rivalry between the two schools. Princeton had waltzed into West Philly thinking there was little Penn could offer in the way of a challenge. What unfolded was a test that every Quaker had prepared for all season. While the scoreboard showed Penn coming up six points short of a miracle win, everyone in the Palestra knows which team passed the exam with flying colors and which can't wait to get back home, where everyone gets a B no matter what the effort is.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.