Not this time, Tigers!

Penn's aggressive play from start to finish left Princeton in second. PRINCETON, N.J -- After their humbling 50-49 loss to Princeton three weeks ago at the Palestra, the Quakers counted down their days to redemption. Forfeiting a 29-3 lead that night, Penn was determined not to once again play the role of the victim when the teams met for the second time. "We looked at ourselves in the mirror," Penn forward Jed Ryan said. "We decided that either we do this or we give up. Giving up is not something that any of us have in our characters." True to their word, the Quakers' aggressive play was too much for the Tigers last night, as the Red and Blue drove back to Philly with a shiny new title -- Ivy champs. In the opening moments of the game, the Quakers found themselves engulfed in the Tigers' press, the trigger that caused Penn to cough up its 33-9 halftime lead three weeks ago. This time it was the Tigers who budged. Unlike last time, the Quakers moved the ball on cue. And they did not stop to catch their breath when they reached the frontcourt, instead exposing the Tigers for easy fast-break points. "They handled it well and they attacked it and scored off it," Princeton head coach Bill Carmody said. "I thought it was going to be OK if they scored once in a while but a streak of defensive steals never really materialized." Although Dunphy had thought about throwing out the tape of the February 9 game, the Quakers coach kept it around for motivation, making sure the mistakes did not reoccur. "I thought that we were very aggressive against pressure and taking the ball to the basket as much as we could," Dunphy said. "We talked about that through our preparation for the game." Center Geoff Owens stood as a testament to Penn's attitude last night. Unable to open his mouth after having his fractured jaw wired after hitting the hardwood floor 10 days ago at Dartmouth, the 6'11" Owens refused to quit, putting back five Penn misses for 10 points. In the second half, Owens had to leave the game after his face collided with a Gabe Lewullis elbow. Returning from the locker room with a bandage running the length of half the side of his face, Owens led the Quakers down the stretch, even hitting two key free throws. "Between the broken jaw and the lacerations it looks like he got in a fist fight with Mike Tyson," Ryan said. "I have gained more respect for him in the last two weeks than any person in my entire life." The first few minutes of the second half were crucial to Penn's run. During the same timespan that allowed the Tigers back in the game three weeks ago, the Quakers opened the second half on a 15-2 run to seize control of the tempo and the game. Watching for a reaction to their sudden start in the second half, the Quakers were determined not to allow Princeton back in the game. Hitting two three-pointers, Princeton closed the gap to 10 with 11:41 remaining. But during the Quakers' next possession, Penn forward Frank Brown -- who sat on the bench during most of Penn's first game against Princeton -- drained a three-point shot to stop the Tigers in their tracks. "We knew that they were going to make a run tonight in the second half," Penn forward Paul Romanczuk said. "We focused in on just stopping that run." With no hesitation on offense, the Quakers became stifling on defense. After limiting Princeton to 39 percent shooting in the first half, Penn held the Tigers to less than 30 percent from the field in the second half. Lewullis, whose season will end without a trip to the NCAAs for the first time in his career, felt this year's Tigers squad lacked the aggressiveness that Penn had attained. "Sometimes I feel like there is a lack of heart," Lewullis said. "Down at Penn, each player was inspired by other players. I was used to that the past four years here. This year it didn't happen that much." With its first NCAA berth in four years, Penn is moving into uncharted territory. If the Quakers can utilize the same focus in the NCAA Tournament that they harnessed for last night's game, then they just might find themselves highlighting Dick Vitale's "Upset City."

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