Escape from New York

NEW YORK -- Senior David Klatsky received a pass at the top of the key and shot a three-pointer with six minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the first half. Less than a second after it left his hands, he knew the result, covering his head in disgust. Senior Andrew Toole joined the cringing one minute into the second half when he too airballed a three-pointer, this time from the right baseline. They weren't the only ones who were disturbed by some of Penn's mistakes. In escaping the Lions at Columbia's Levien Gymnasium, 47-40, in front of a Penn-partisan crowd, the Quakers (12-5, 4-0 Ivy) were largely stifled by the Lions' defense. The last time the Quakers were held to so few points came on Jan. 20, 2000, in a 44-40 loss to Temple. The Columbia victory followed a 70-67 win over Cornell on Friday, which means the Quakers remain unbeaten in the Ivy League entering tomorrow's clash of Ivy titans against Princeton. "Their game plan was to slow the game down, slow the pace down and they play good defense," Penn junior Jeff Schiffner said. "But we were happy to get out of here with a win." Despite being outshot and outrebounded by the Lions -- 40.5 percent to 34.1 percent and 29-26, respectively -- the result was never in doubt. Columbia center Dragutin Kravic's three-pointer to draw Columbia to a 10-7 deficit was the closest the Lions would get during the game. Besides the two subsequent possessions, Columbia was never within seven points. But despite any of Penn's shooting deficiencies, the Lions' inability to attempt open field goals diminished any chance at a run. During the second half alone, the Lions attempted six shots with five or fewer seconds remaining on the shot clock. "There are so few possessions on a night like tonight that you really have to maximize each possession," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. With a sporadic night from three-point territory -- going 6-for-16 -- the Quakers concentrated on going down low. Ugonna Onyekwe's behind-the-basket scoop with 10:40 remaining in the second half highlighted the focus on inside play. Post play "was definitely a point of emphasis," Onyekwe said. "At the end of the day [a three-pointer is] only a 30-35 percent shot. Koko [Archibong] and I need to establish more of a post presence and that was definitely a point of emphasis." But despite the presence of the defending Ivy League Player of the Year and Archibong inside, Columbia center Chris Wiedemann had his way down low. Spurred largely by a lefty jump hook, the senior scored 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting.

No other Lions player scored in double digits with Kravic chipping in with eight. Onyekwe and Schiffner, meanwhile, led the charge for the Quakers, scoring 16 and 10, with Onyekwe also ending the game with seven rebounds. While the outcome of the game was never in question, the Quakers solidified the victory with 6:00 remaining by instituting a full-court press, completely flummoxing Columbia. "We talked about giving them a little more pressure than we typically give," Dunphy said. "They're not necessarily the kind of team that takes the pressure, pushes through the pressure to get easy baskets." Before the fairly comfortable win against the Lions, the Quakers barely nudged their way past the Big Red, 70-67, in Ithaca, N.Y., behind two Schiffner free throws with nine seconds remaining. After being tied at 47, Onyekwe sparked an 8-2 Penn run. Despite a five-minute Penn scoreless sequence late in the second half, the Quakers stayed ahead, 62-56, with 3:20 remaining. Cornell surged back and Onyekwe was called for a goaltend with 10 seconds remaining that narrowed the Penn lead to 68-67. Schiffner's free throws iced the game at 70-67. "A win's a win, and at this point, we only have 10 games left," Schiffner said after the Columbia game. "And we're going to take every one we can get."

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