N.Y. state of mind: M. Hoops wins two

The Quakers breezed by Columbia, but struggled to a tight victory against Cornell. NEW YORK -- The Penn men's basketball team's New York road trip got off to a rough start and nearly ended in disaster. In the end, though, the Quakers (8-8, 2-0 Ivy League) returned to Philadelphia with two victories and a share of first place in the Ivy League. After waiting longer than any team in the nation to begin conference play, the Quakers' Ivy League title defense was delayed even more. Equipment problems on their Amtrak train delayed Friday's game at Columbia (8-9, 2-2 Ivy League) by over an hour. The delay, however, did not have much of an effect on Penn, as the Quakers cruised to a 63-37 victory. The next night, Penn held off the Big Red, 50-47, to seal the successful weekend. But on Friday night, the Quakers finally looked like the team that their fans have been hoping to see all season. Unfazed by the delay or by Columbia's perfect Ivy record, the Quakers came out on fire. Forward Ugonna Onyekwe introduced himself to the Ivy League with authority, recording the first double-double of his career. Before the Lions knew what hit them, they were already trailing by double digits. The Quakers went up 16-0, holding Columbia scoreless for the opening 11 minutes of the game on the strength of solid perimeter defense and interior superiority. "We have two of the best big guys in the league," Penn co-captain Michael Jordan said. "It's tough to stop them down in the box once they get good position. Columbia didn't have any players tall enough to contest their shots." Geoff Owens grabbed as many boards in the first half (10) as the entire Columbia squad. He also had three first-half blocks. Owens finished with 12 rebounds and nine points. Given Owens' presence down low, the Lions repeatedly held the ball until a waning shot clock forced low-percentage shots. "I thought their defense was excellent," Columbia coach Armond Hill said. "They're big, strong and quick, and we had trouble getting the ball inside. We were getting shots, but always under duress." Jordan hit a long three-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer to give the Quakers an astonishing 32-9 lead going into the locker room. "At halftime, we just talked about staying focused for 20 more minutes," Jordan said. "We knew it wasn't over and reminded some of the guys that we held Princeton to nine points in the first half last year so we shouldn't let that result happen again." But history would not repeat itself. The second half started out just as badly as the first for the Lions. Owens and Onyekwe resumed their inside dominance and showed their versatility, dropping in baby hooks, forcing turnovers and skying for boards. Just as they did in the first half, the Quakers played excellent defense and held Columbia scoreless for the first six minutes of the second half. "I thought we were nervous more than anything," Hill said. "We're young, and it's the first game we've had against a team with the depth and experience of Penn." Jordan, who finished with 13 points, displayed that experience and put on a shooting clinic, throwing fakes to create wide-open shots and then draining them. "If we can come out and play like this every night, I'll be happy," Jordan said. "We've been like Jekyll and Hyde all year so hopefully tonight starts the consistent play." But the Quakers were unprepared to back up Jordan's statement the following night, barely edging Cornell in a game that was far too close for Penn's comfort. For the second straight night, the Quakers built up an early lead, going up by as many as 13 points in the first half. But the Big Red clawed their way back with a 9-2 run to close out the half, regaining momentum. "We should have finished them off in the first half," Onyekwe said. "We didn't, and that gave them confidence." The Big Red continued to apply pressure to the Quakers after intermission. With Owens in foul trouble, Cornell center Greg Barratt had his way inside and gave Cornell its first lead with 17 minutes remaining. "We thought we had a chance because we hadn't played our best ball yet," Cornell guard Wallace Prather said. "It was just a matter of making shots, getting some rebounds and getting some loose balls." The Quakers never trailed by more than two points, though, as Jordan consistently answered any Big Red challenge to his team. With just under four minutes to play, the game tied at 47, Jordan hit two clutch free throws to give the Quakers the lead for good. Freshman guard David Klatsky extended the lead by hitting the front end of a one-and-one. However, by missing the second free throw, he was unable to put the game away with under a minute to play. "David's first foul shot was very important," Dunphy said. "It allowed us to press out on their three-point shooters on the last play of the game." Ray Mercedes, who led Cornell with 12 points, missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. Penn's defense held the Big Red scoreless over the game's final 4:40. "We escaped out of there," Jordan said. "We missed some shots, but we dug deep and got the rebounds we needed. They are a good offensive team. They play really loose, and it's tough to play teams that are loose like that."

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