When an Eastern Michigan player rebounded Dave Degitz's missed free throw in the final seconds of yesterday's game, the crowd packed into Cafe 210 West had only one thing to say.

"Foul him," screamed many of the 80 people who watched the game on television in Cafe's "quiet cocktail" lounge yesterday. The Nittany Lions took their advice, but the strategy failed and the Cinderella team from Happy Valley's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 25 years ended.

The 13th-seeded Lions fell to Eastern Michigan, 71-68. The overtime loss came two days after Penn State upset UCLA, 74-69, at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.

"After the win against UCLA, I thought we had a pretty good chance of beating (Eastern) Michigan," said Dennis Julio (graduate-civil engineering), who was enjoying some Killian's Red beer with his friends.

But while many in the crowd were heartbroken by the defeat -- curse words were abundant -- no one called the men's basketball team a bunch of losers.

"They had a helluva season," said Scott Battle (graduate-pre-med). "No one ever expected them to go this far."

"It was too close for comfort," said Rachel Marcune (senior-exercise science). "But now we're drinking our sorrows away."

Even those who aren't usually fond of basketball or the "March madness" that surrounds the NCAA Tournament, were engrossed in the game.

"I've really been following Penn State basketball since they hit the NCAA tournament," said John Bickel (senior-industrial engineering), drawing laughter from his friends.

"I'm a fair weather basketball fan," added Bickel, who wore a green felt hat in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

Many fans at the Cafe, 210 W. College Ave., yesterday afternoon predicted good times ahead for the basketball program and its players.

"Over the past few years, our basketball team's gone up and up," said Joe Kucik, a recent University graduate. "We're not going to be a regular in the tournament, but we're going to make it a lot more often than every 25 years."