Men's basketball shocks Quakers in overtime win

As the referee prepared to throw up the ball to start the game between Penn (20-8 overall, 12-2 Ivy League) and Princeton (12-15, 10-4), junior forward Luke Owings — listed at 6 foot 6 inches — looked up at Penn's 6'8" Steve Danley. The height difference appeared to be much greater than two inches and Danley made the most of it, winning the tip for Penn. But as 5' 9" senior guard Scott Greenman — the team's leading scorer — has shown over his outstanding four-year career, being short is a disadvantage that can be overcome.

In overtime, with two and a half seconds remaining and the Tigers down one, Greenman — playing his last game in a Princeton jersey — dribbled full court and found junior center Justin Conway for the winning layup, pushing the Tigers to a 60-59 victory over the Ivy League champion Quakers.

"[The Quakers] had a big mix-up off the catch on the inbounds play, and they let [Greenman] get wide open," head coach Joe Scott '87 said. "I was yelling 'Yo, go, go', because for some reason the whole right side opened up."

Conway — who tallied a career high 21 points with his aggressive play — needed a little help from his teammate for the final bucket.

"Scotty did everything. I mean I sure hope I could make that shot right under the basket," Conway said. "Though with two seconds left it's a little bit different."

Greenman had a chance to end the game in regulation, but he missed a jump shot as the clock expired. Ibrahim Jaaber capped his 22-point second half scoring spree with two free throws, tying the score at 50-50 with 24 seconds remaining and pushing the game into overtime.

"It was a hell of a basketball game. It was a tale of two halves. We played terrific in the first half, and then they played great in the second half," Scott said.

After the first half, few would have predicted overtime, as the Tigers held a dominating 28-12 lead. Princeton's defense stifled the Quakers, not allowing a single field goal until Mark Zoller broke through on the right baseline for a layup with 11 minutes ,27 seconds remaining in the first half. Steal after steal took Penn's offensive options away — Greenman alone tallied four steals in the first half.

On Penn's second possession, Jaaber drove into the center of the key, only to be swarmed by Tigers who forced a turnover, one of 11 the Quakers would commit in the first half. The next possession met a similar end for the Quakers, as sophomore forward Kyle Koncz stole a pass under the basket.

Despite the Penn drought, the Tigers struggled to build a significant lead and the score remained 3-0 for the first five minutes of the game, with only Koncz tallying a three. Princeton's press upped the tempo, allowing Conway to convert on a fast break layup after a Greenman steal. Owings then went hot for the Tigers, converting on two threes and a jump shot. Conway added layups for nine points to lead all scorers at the half, as the Tigers built a 28-12 lead.

The Penn twin towers of Zoller and Steve Danley were responsible for jumpstarting the Quaker offense in the first half. With 9:32 to go, Danley found Zoller cutting down the center of the key for a layup and then converted the resulting foul shot. Moments later, Danley soared for an almost-dunk from the right baseline. Zoller next added a jump shot from the right side, as the two combined for nine of the Quakers' 12 first -half points.

The second half was the Jaaber show, as the Penn guard drove for layup after layup and was fouled for freethrow after freethrow. After Greenman was called for a technical after disputing a no-call, Jaaber swished two free throws to bring the Quakers within three, 36-33, at 8:38 remaining. The Tigers held a tenuous lead for the rest of the game. With 1:19 remaining, the Tigers held a 49-42 lead, but six points by Jaaber and a layup by David Whitehurst dragged Princeton into overtime.

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"That kid for Penn is a very great player, but this kid right here is the second best player [in the Ivy League] hands down," Scott said. "You take either of them away and you have two totally different basketball teams."

With both teams in the double bonus, the overtime was dominated by free throws. Penn jumped out to a 53-50 lead on foul shots, and sophomore forward Noah Savage responded with a three pointer and a celebratory fist pump. Brian Grandieri responded for the Quakers with three free thows and a layup. The score continued to go back and forth as Conway hit three of four foul shots, and Penn held a 56-58 lead. Savage drove from the top of the key and forced a layup over three Quaker defenders to tie the score.

"He was absolutely terrific in overtime," Scott said of Savage who scored all 10 of his points after halftime. "Big rebounds and big, big shots."

Jaaber responded with a forced layup of his own, but Savage fouled him and forced a miss. Jaaber choked on the first shot, but hit the second, giving Penn the one point lead that the duo of Greenman and Conway reversed in the final seconds.

"To be sitting next to these two guys, and to have won the game, these are the two guys that should be sitting here," Scott said. "That he threw the pass, our captain, and then he made the shot, that's the way it should have happened."