PHILADELPHIA— Fran Dunphy watched in dismay. As the halftime buzzer blared across the court, the Penn coach traced Ahmed El Nokali's last second shot from just inside the halfcourt line as it sliced through the air and into the net. Now a sturdy eight point lead became a flimsy 24-19 edge as the teams entered their locker rooms.
"I thought there was a message there," Dunphy said.
But any message the men's basketball team sent to Penn probably went something like this: Don't worry.
On the strength of a second-half spurt that saw Penn (24-6 overall, 11-3 Ivy) stretch an early three-point lead to 16, the Quakers broke open a tight game in the final minutes, to defeat Princeton (16-10, 11-3), 64-48, and seize a third of the Ivy championship. Yale, Princeton and Penn are the first set of tri-champions since the league was formally established in 1956, forcing a two-game playoff for the automatic NCAA bid. Thursday night at the Palestra, Princeton will play Yale, with the winner facing Penn at Lafayette Saturday.
El Nokali led the Tigers with 18 points, while freshman guard Will Venable chpped in 10. Senior forward Mike Bechtold, the hero of Princeton's Saturday night win against Columbia, was scoreless. Guard Andrew Toole led Penn with 19 points.
No Princeton player had more than two asissts — Jeff Schiffner had seven, as Penn out-assisted Princeton 15-6. No one gathered more than five rebounds — Ugonna Onyekwe had eight (to go with 16 points), as Penn outrebounded Princeton 36-24.
After the game, sophomore center Konrad Wysocki turned his head and watched as the Penn fans flooded the floor, surrounding the players and roaring. The other Tigers walked slowly down the receiving line, avoiding the scene unfolding before them, their movements languid. Saturday night against Columbia, Princeton clinched at least a share of its ninth Ivy title in 13 seasons. But two close wins against inferior teams boded ill for the Palestra showdown — while the Tigers had defeated Cornell and the Lions handily at home, Princeton lost to Penn 62-38 Feb. 12, shooting a dismal 27.5 percent. In the first half last night, the Tigers suffered through similar struggles, shooting only 31.8 percent while Penn strung together an 11-0 run spanning just under seven minutes.
An aggressive man-to-man defense contained a potent Penn offense that had averaged 75 points during its last eight games, but Princeton was similarly stifled by Penn's equally attentive defense. With 3:01 left in the half, El Nokali cast two long three pointers through the net, pulling Princeton to 19-14. But on the Tigers' next possession the senior was called for an offensive foul as he tried to dish the ball to a waiting teammate in the wings. A moment later, Quaker Ugonna Onyekwe slammed a dunk and converted a foul shot. El Nokali took his towel and slammed it into the bench during the next time out.
The second half began with promise for Princeton when junior guard Kyle Wente laid in a shot that rattled around the rim before rolling through the net, pulling the Tigers within three, 24-21. But on their next trip down the floor the Tigers suffered a shot clock violation. Then a traveling call. Then a five second violation. Then an offensive foul on freshman center Dominick Martin, his third.
There was no opportunity to see whether the poor shooting of the first half would be repeated, because the Tigers could not launch a shot for nearly five minutes. On their next chance, Wente dashed downcourt for a breakaway layup, paused while his defender skidded off the court past the basket, hesitated, and missed the open lay-up. As he ran down the court his face twisted in frustration. Andrew Toole raced downcourt and sank a three-pointer to push the Penn lead back to seven, 30-21 and the Palestra rumbled.
After converting no three-pointers in the first half, Penn sank three in rapid succession. After Toole's second three-pointer, which gave the Quakers a 38-29 lead, the Penn players raised their fists in the air as they trotted back downcourt.
"They made a few threes in a row and all of a sudden it's over," Thompson said, his voice hoarse. "They're a very good team. They've shown that all year. But I definitely do think we're a lot closer than the score indicates."
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