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Princeton head basketball coach John Thompson III speaks to reporters after his team lost its first Ivy game of the year.[Dara Nikolova/The Daily Pennsylvanian]

PRINCETON, N.J. -- With the weighty implications heading into the 209th meeting between Penn and Princeton, each squad had the opportunity to make a statement to be heard throughout the Ivy League.

With their impressive win, the Quakers fully seized their opportunity and put themselves right back into the Ivy League race. Furthermore, the large margin of victory reminded their rivals that they don't intend on missing the NCAA Tournament this year.

Despite the magnitude of the showdown between the Ivy League's perennial powers, both coaches tried to put the Ivy League contest in its place with the other 13.

Penn head coach Fran Dunphy and Princeton head coach John Thompson III sought to put the game in perspective, despite its magnitude.

When asked about the urgency of the game with the Tigers, an even-keeled Dunphy responded: "We're in a crucial stage. We've got nine games left and nine playoff games and nine must games."

A downtrodden Thompson took the same approach in spite of the loss, concentrating on the road ahead.

"We're now five games into a 14-game race," Thompson said. "It's a long haul and we realize that you have to take it one game at a time. As I said to our guys, 'There's no need to look at the big picture, the next weekend.'"

The storyline that led up to last night's game was clear for both squads. Penn needed to win the game to maintain a realistic shot at defending its Ivy League title. Princeton had the prime opportunity on its home court to deliver a severe blow to its archrival by placing the Quakers three full games back in the Ivy League standings. Whoever won would carry serious momentum into the rest of the Ivy campaign.

The Quakers stepped up and left little to chance by seizing a sizeable first-half lead and prohibiting the Tigers from drawing close.

Freshman Mark Zoller knew the levity of the rivalry matchup despite last night being his first time stepping onto the floor at Jadwin Gym.

"It was real important," Zoller said. "We just wanted to come out, being down two losses early in the league, we wanted to come out and it was a must win for us."

When asked to compare this year's Penn squad with the 2001-02 team that rebounded from a 2-3 start to win the Ivies, Dunphy implied he was proud of the way his players have reacted to their slow start.

"I think once you do this for a number of years nothing surprises you," Dunphy said. "Kids just rise to occasions and again, you never know how much character a team has, an individual has, until adversity hits."

Princeton big man Judson Wallace cited that Penn's ability to jump out early made the Tigers change their offensive game plan, but to no avail.

"In the second half, we decided that we were running too much low, which I don't think we can run too much low.

"I think we should throw it all the time, but we decided to start running other stuff and start shooting threes and missing and when we're not hitting our threes that's when we're vulnerable."

When asked about losing five straight to Penn, Thompson replied: "I've said it's different teams. It's different years. We have to worry about how to win the next one."

After the Tigers' performance against the Quakers last night, Princeton and coach Thompson will definitely have plenty to worry about the next time they play Penn.

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