Penn 93, La Salle 92 (Final)
Grandieri goes to the line and makes the first free throw. Paul Johnson cuts it to one with half a second left, but Grandieri alertly throws it all the way down the court to Smith to kill the clock. Read much more about why this was an instant classic in tomorrow's DP.
Penn 92, La Salle 89 (0:07.5 2nd)
Too easy. Freshman Rodney Green needs only four seconds to take it to the rack and score. Seven and a half ticks left as La Salle calls time. Far, far from over, especially with how Penn shoots its free throws and how La Salle has shown its range today.
Penn 92, La Salle 87 (0:12 2nd)
And that's just what they do. Jaaber and Penn take 33 seconds off the shotclock, and Jaaber nets his 26th and 27th points on a nifty runner. Something tells me this one's not over yet, though.
Penn 90, La Salle 87 (0:40 2nd)
Mark Zoller gets a big steal when Mike St. John can't handle a pass. Score here, and the Quakers will be well on their way.
Penn 90, La Salle 87 (1:03 2nd)
Acrobatic shots by Zoller and Grandieri give the Quakers a one-point lead. Huge offensive board by Zoller, who knocks down two huge free throws. The Explorers cheerleaders have thrown their pom-poms in disgust on the last two foul calls.
Win or lose, this is a game that Penn fans are going to be talking about for a long, long time. Or at least until Fran and Co. come to the Palestra next week.
La Salle 85, Penn 84 (2:24 2nd)
After missing a chance at an offensive rebound at one end, Danley fouls out at the other end. Final totals for Danley. No field goals, two points, three rebounds.
Penn 83, La Salle 82 (2:59 2nd)
We're coming down to a great finish. Jaaber nails a three to give Penn an 80-78 lead, but Paul Johnson on cue makes it 80-80. Peddie Jr. right back with a three. Johnson with an "and-1" opportunity. I can't even type fast enough to keep up with the scoring. I'm going to need this timeout.
Quick stats update. Harris with 32. Zoller and Jaaber with 24 apiece. Grandieri 15 and Smith 8.
La Salle 76, Penn 75 (5:01 2nd)
Now Harris and Zoller are trading buckets. I haven't seen too many games like this and probably won't see too many more. Even if I had paid for a ticket, I'd be getting my money's worth by now.
Penn 73, La Salle 72 (6:39 2nd)
Grandieri misfires on his 16th shot attempt of the game, but Darren Smith emerges as an unlikely hero to give the Quakers the lead, burying a three from the corner. Team Peddie is coming alive.
Meanwhile Harris makes a mistake and just makes a two, giving him 30 points on the night.
La Salle 70, Penn 68 (9:22 2nd)
Huge three by Jaaber with a defender in his face gives Penn its first lead of the half, but Harris answers with his eighth three to give that lead right back to the explorers. This is two big-time players putting on a show.
La Salle 63, Penn 63 (11:09 2nd)
Harris isn't letting one airball get to him. The guard nails his seventh three of the game. Meanwhile La Salle has cooled off a bit, but Penn can't get an offensive board, even with the starting frontcourt in the game. Harris is now two short of the La Salle record of nine threes made.
Never fear though. The Quakers tie the game with some nifty passing from Jaaber to Grandieri. Ibby is really stepping up.
La Salle 60, Penn 57 (14:06 2nd)
Much like he did in the first half and many other times in his career, Jaaber is doing his best to keep the Quakers in the game. Stong drives to the hoop and a nice layup will do it. Missing two of his three free throws won't.
A Darren Smith layup brings the Quakers within three and brings the Penn fan section to life for the first time in a while.
La Salle 58, Penn 50 (15:38 2nd)
Darren Smith has come off the bench to start the second half and hasn't done much other than an offensive foul. The Quakers are getting pushed around inside and on the offensive glass. But a Brian Grandieri three rescued this one from double digits.
Explorers alum Steven Smith, whose teams by the way, never beat Penn, is in the house and gets a nice reception from the La Salle student section.
La Salle 49, Penn 41 (Half)
Too bad the Explorer's don't have a 100-point deal at Abner's. With the way they've been shooting and the way the Quakers have been playing, it wouldn't be a stretch at all. The key sequence as La Salle closed the half on an 11-4 run was when Steve Danley and Mark Zoller both trailed ballhandler Mike St. John Up the court, and the ball evenutally got to a wide-open Darnell Harris for his sixth three-pointer on the power-play.
At the half, Darnell Harris leads La Salle with 20 points, 6-for-8 from three-point range. Zoller has 12 and Jaaber 11 for the Quakers, who were lit up by Glen Miller during a timeout, and likely at halftime also.
La Salle 38, Penn 35 (3:48 1st)
Just as fast, Jaaber answers back with seven of his own, and the game continues at an incredible pace. Certainly not the typical Big 5 tilt. Although for the season, the over seems to be prevailing in city games. Maybe it's the loss of John Chaney.
La Salle 34, Penn 24 (6:42 1st)
Man did that happen fast. Darnell Harris' fifth three of the game capped a 66-second 10-0 run for La Salle. Penn settling for the first shot, not the best shot.
La Salle 24, Penn 24 (7:48 1st)
The game has taken on a furious pace in the last four minutes with layups and missed layups at both ends. Here's a lineup for you. Jaaber, Danley, Egee, Kach and Schreiber. First possession results in a turnover, and at the other end, Guillendeaux is fouled taking a three. Three shots to come.
La Salle 22, Penn 20 (9:36 1st)
Sequence of the game as Penn keeps it from getting out of hand with a little luck. The Explorers blew an easy layup, leading to a fast break and Ibrahim Jaaber's first points of the game. McMahon taken out in favor of Egee.
Penn 17, La Salle 17 (10:45 1st)
Harris is lighting it up from beyond the arc with 14 of La Salle's first 17 points. Meanwhile, we get our first "overrated" chant from the "explorer entourage."
Penn 15, La Salle 14 (11:45 1st)
An offensive rebound, a Darnell Harris three and a terrible pass by Tommy McMahon have gotten the Explorers right back into it at the second media timeout. Glen Miller has been substituting early with McMahon for Egee and Votel for Danley.
Penn 15, La Salle 10 (13:11 1st)
Pretty good contingent of fans from both sides. Penn fans are clearly into it. Maybe because some of them haven't been to a game since Fordham, and there wasn't much to cheer about there.
Penn 9, La Salle 5 (15:21 1st)
A good start for the Quakers on both ends of the court. Penn's man-to-man had La Salle out of rhythm for the first three minutes, and Kevin Egee set the tone with an early three.
Good evening from Tom Gola Arena, where the 9-6 Quakers are set to take on the 8-9 La Salle Explorers in a Big 5 game. Penn hasn't lost to La Salle since a two-point win on Dec. 7, 2000.
Here are your starters:
Penn will start its usual lineup of Ibrahim Jaaber, Steve Danley, Brian Grandieri and Mark Zoller along with guard Kevin Egee. For the Explorers, it's Darnell Harris, Rodney Green, Ruben Guillandeaux in the backcourt with forwards Mike St. John and Yves Mekongo Mbala.
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