Originally published March 18, 1994

UNIONDALE , N.Y. - Just 45 seconds had elapsed and Penn's Jerome Allen had the ball out of bounds under his basket. If you had watched the Quakers over the last few seasons, you knew what was coming. Barry Pierce snuck quietly into the lane. Allen, never looking Pierce's way, lobbed the ball to the front of the rim. Pierce cradled it for an instant and dropped it softly into the net.

Nebraska, the Big Eight Tournament champion, caught up once, but the Cornhuskers never caught on.

Playing a first-round NCAA Tournament East Regional game at the Nassau Coliseum like they had been preparing for the moment their whole lives, the Quakers were brilliant - seeing every open man, making every important shot, adjusting to every situation.

And when Penn's 90-80 win, which was over long before it was over, became official, there was no celebration. There was another game to play - tomorrow against Florida, a 64-62 winner over James Madison in the second game of the night doubleheader.

There would be time to consider the first NCAA win by an Ivy League team since Princeton beat San Diego in a 1984 play-in game. With the sounds of Penn fans cascading down from every corner of the building (how did they get all those tickets, anyway?), Penn just enjoyed the moment and prepared to play some more ball.

"It's as good as win as we've had at Penn in a long time," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "We worked hard to get to this point. But when you win a tournament game, it just sets you apart. I think these guys really deserve the credit. I'm glad for our league as well. I got a lot of calls from people around the league over the last couple of weeks. "

The 11th-seeded Quakers (25-2) bolted to a 13-2 lead in the first three minutes. No. 6 seed Nebraska (20-10) was running, but Penn was running faster.

"I think the good start was crucial," Dunphy said. "It was the most meaningful part of the game. "

When Pierce (25 points, eight rebounds) got a quick second foul, he had to sit and Nebraska fought back to get its only tie at 21-21.

But every time Nebraska hit a big shot or made a run, Penn hit a bigger shot and made a better run.

Whenever Nebraska got comfortable against one defense, it saw another. Solve the "man" and get a look at a 1-3-1 zone.

"Fran Dunphy is one of the most underrated coaches in the United States," Nebraska coach Danny Nee said. "He really had his team ready. "

The zone and center Eric Moore, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, got Penn to halftime with a 46-34 lead. The zone also helped Nebraska miss all 10 of its three-point attempts and commit 10 turnovers. The 'Huskers never got any rhythm.

The 'Huskers got to within 50-44 early in the second half, but that was it. Matt Maloney (12 points, 10 assists, five rebounds) hit one of Penn's 11 three-pointers. Allen (18 points, 10 assists, five rebounds) hit two more ''threes," Penn made six consecutive shots in all, the lead was 66-51 and Nebraska chased ghosts the rest of the game.

"We got off to a great start and just built upon it," Maloney said.

Penn shot 51.5 percent, had 25 assists on its 35 field goals and committed just 10 turnovers, none when it mattered.

Is that as good as Penn can play?

"I hope not," Allen said. "You never want to settle for previous success. You always want to go out and top that. "

It didn't matter who Dunphy put into the game. They all played well.

"We really ran our offense well," Moore said. "Everybody was unselfish. "

Senior Andy Baratta did not score, but he threw his body around, giving the team 10 valuable minutes and had an NCAA win.

"It's a lot more exciting than I thought it would be," Baratta said. ''We've been pretty businesslike about most of our wins. It's nice to get really emotional about one. If I wasn't smiling, I'd be crying. "

Scott Kegler hit three three-pointers and scored nine points. Tim Krug scored all nine of his points in the second half and was extremely active, running to the open spots and finishing plays.

"After last year, when we lost a tough one to UMass," Krug said, "they had the cameras in our faces and we were all depressed . . . It just means so much to get a win and finally get some recognition for ourselves and the Ivy League. "

Kegler said he and his teammates had spent the last few days talking about whether as kids they thought about playing in the NCAA Tournament.

"Guys said they dreamed about it," Kegler said. "Now, we've not only played in it twice, we've won one game, and, hopefully, we'll play five more. "

Hopefully, Penn will not have to listen to any more Ivy League questions. Penn is a very good team that happens to play in the Ivy League.

"You may be surprised (by the result)," Allen told one doubter. "But we're not. "

Nebraska, which beat Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State in three unforgettable days last weekend, looked very much like a race horse that had been all out one too many times. In racing parlance, the 'Huskers bounced.

"They kicked our butt," Nee said. "You have to give the credit to Penn. They bent, but they didn't crack. And (forget) that stuff about the Ivy League. They're a quality team. "

Nebraska senior Eric Piatkowski had a team-high 23 points, but missed all six of his three pointers. The 'Huskers shot just 3-for-20 from the arc.

"It's over now," said Piatkowski, who played in the tournament each of the last four years and never was on a winning side. "There's no use crying about it. Penn played a fantastic game. "

The Quakers did and they play some more, a win away from the Sweet 16.

"This is a group that is capable of showing some courage and some guts," Dunphy said. "They obviously did that tonight, but that wasn't unusual."