Little things guide M.Hoops to big win

In the end, it came down to the basics -- jumpers, layups and free throws.

Before last night, it seemed the basics were lacking. Penn seemingly had only one offensive option -- the three.

The Quakers lived by the three and died by the three.

In last night's game against Villanova, it seemed like Penn was ready to roll over and die.

After hitting four treys in the first 11 minutes of the contest to give the Quakers a 20-17 edge, Penn's outside shooters went silent.

And so did the Red and Blue's scoring.

Unable to generate offense in the paint -- Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong were a combined 2-for-14 for the half -- the Quakers watched as the Wildcats powered to a 38-28 halftime lead.

"I don't think we played well in the first half, and I have to give Villanova credit for that," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "That's probably the best defense we've faced so far this year."

'Nova went into the locker room shooting over 50 percent from the field, holding Penn to a measly 29.4 percent including 6-of-17 from downtown.

"They did a very good job of [shutting down Onyekwe and Archibong]," Dunphy said. "But if they do that, someone else must have an opportunity."

In the second half, the Quakers started finding those opportunities.

Down 42-31 -- Villanova's largest lead of the game -- it was an Andrew Toole jumper at 15:54 that started the Quakers' run.

One tip-in, five foul shots, two layups, a jumper and two three-pointers later, Penn had stormed back to a 52-48 lead.

"I said at halftime, 'We're going to be fine, but we need to make some changes,'" Dunphy said. "'Just share the basketball and we'll be fine.'"

And that's what Penn did. The Quakers started making the extra pass, finding the open man, driving and creating shots.

The Red and Blue did have some clutch shooting from downtown -- a David Klatsky three gave Penn a 48-48 tie, and a Jeff Schiffner trey pulled Penn within three with less than five minutes to go in regulation -- but the three was no longer the Quakers' only offensive option.

"I have confidence in my teammates that they are going to step up," Toole said. "Ugonna might not have a great shooting night, but other guys stepped up.

"We have a lot of versatility and we have a lot of weapons that make it difficult to be guarded by the opposition."

And, when it counted, the Quakers showcased those weapons -- as a team.

Schiffner added five points in the last five minutes of regulation.

Penn's Tim Begley forced a jump ball at midcourt from Gary Buchanan with under a minute left in regulation to keep 'Nova away from the basket and give Penn a chance for the win.

Toole calmly hit two free throws to give Penn the 64-64 tie and send the contest into overtime.

Archibong added two points and a block to put Penn up 66-64 before fouling out with three minutes left in OT.

And Onyekwe?

With Penn holding on to a one-point lead with under 12 seconds left, the forward blocked Reggie Bryant's jumper to secure the slim victory.

"It wasn't just me," Onyekwe said. "Other guys stepped up and did stuff, so it's good to know that when I don't have a good game, there are other people who are going to do things."

Five guys on the court. Five contributors.

The Quakers finally know the way to win.

And it isn't just with three-pointers.

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