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Penn scrambles to win over Dartmouth

Quakers win their Ivy League home opener, and take their second straight victory.

Penn's Tony Hicks  goes up for a basket over Dartmouth's Alex Mitola in the second half.
Penn's Tony Hicks goes up for a basket over Dartmouth's Alex Mitola in the second half.Read moreCHARLES FOX / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

AFTER 7 MINUTES last night at the Palestra, Penn had one more turnover (five) than the game had points. And yet somehow the Quakers led by a deuce.

At halftime, they were up four, even though their top two scorers had zero points after getting into foul trouble.

With 7 minutes to go, they were ahead by a dozen. So who figured they'd have to come up with a couple of big plays at both ends down the stretch to hold off Dartmouth, which was coming off a win at Harvard?

The Quakers (6-10, 1-1 Ivy League), who were coming off a win over Saint Joseph's, took their conference home opener, 58-51. Tonight they host Harvard (12-5, 2-1) to close out a five-game homestand, looking to win three in a row for the first time since early December.

"We talk about situations when you have an opportunity to win the game," coach Jerome Allen said. "We knew they were eventually going to make shots. But when we needed a stop, we got it.

"It wasn't pretty. But we're not pretty. It's a grind. For 40 minutes, we battled. It was good to see."

The Big Green (8-9, 1-2) had the ball with a little over a minute left and a chance to tie or get within one. But the best they could get was a contested three-pointer by Malik Gill, who had a team-best 15 off the bench. This one hit nothing, and Penn took possession with 42 seconds showing. Dartmouth let the Quakers run a lot of clock before Antonio Woods drove hard into the lane and rolled in a tough leaner at 0:08. Three seconds later, he made both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it official.

"Everyone has to know the objective," Allen said. "You have to be locked in on your defensive assignment. It takes a group effort.

"Let's not lose by allowing the other team to do what it [does best]."

The Quakers got a career-best 18 from sophomore Matt Howard, who didn't score in the closing 8 1/2 minutes. Good thing that was about the time Tony Hicks, who averages 14, got seriously involved. He scored seven straight for Penn at one point, and also hit two foul shots at 2:01 to finish with 11 after picking up his fourth personal with 4:47 to go. Woods had 11, as well, while Greg Louis had 10, all in the second half, to go with eight rebounds. Darien Nelson-Henry, Penn's other double-digit scorer, was 0-for-3 in 24 minutes.

Should we mention that Howard, who shot 6-for-8 overall and 3-for-4 from both the arc and line, was losing his dinner in the locker room at halftime?

"It was the stomach bug," said Howard, who grabbed five boards. "Winning helps it, a lot."

Dartmouth guard Alex Mitola, who averages 14, had only six on 2-for-11, 2-for-10 from three. He did have five assists, but that wasn't nearly enough to make up for all those misses.

The Quakers, who had a 10-rebound advantage, took seven fewer shots, but had two more field goals.

"I ride Matt a lot, as I'm quite sure he'll tell you," Allen noted. "When he's aggressive and active, we're a much better team."

Even when his body's not quite all there.

"I knew my teammates needed a spurt," he said. "And the shots were going in."

Maybe he should get sick more often.