HERSHEY -- The chocolate seemed to melt in DeRon Hayes' hands Saturday.

And so, possibly, did any chance of returning to the NCAA's field of 64, after the Lions' latest 87-86 overtime setback in Hersheypark Arena.

But once again, for the second game in a row, the Lions (12-6) wrote their disappointing story because of foul foul shooting and poor defense down low.

Cases in point: Hayes lost a chance to win the game on the free throw line in regulation -- he missed the front end of a two-shot foul. The Quakers (6-6) scored 38 points in the paint, to only 30 for the Lions. And the Lions could not stop Penn's wiry freshman Shawn Trice when it counted, with seven seconds left in regulation.

"It was a dream," Trice said of his potential winning shot that gave Penn a 70-69 lead. "I said I'm going to shoot it and hope it goes in. I said a little prayer.

"They (the Lion defense) didn't check me on anything, basically, and I guess you take what they give you and go with that."

The Lions seemed a step slow and the wide-bodied Vince Curran was able to obtain excellent position to receive an entry pass from the perimeter.

But even after Trice's 12-foot jumper gave Penn a 70-69 lead with seconds remaining in regulation, forward Elton Carter still managed to catch Dave Degitz's baseball pass with two seconds left. Carter called timeout and the Lions had one last shot at halfcourt.

After each team took a timeout, Trice fouled Hayes, supposedly in the act of shooting a desperation 3-pointer. There was no time left on the clock.

Penn was aware of the foul call, but mistakenly thought it had been overruled. Amidst the confusion, Coach Bruce Parkhill thought that Hayes was fouled in the act of shooting and deserved 3 foul shots. Pandemonium ensued, giving the Lions a James Madison-type ending.

So, after the referees finally settled that Hayes was not in the act of shooting, it was prime time for the svelte 6-foot-7-inch forward, who by his lonesome, could have won it for the Lions with no time remaining in regulation.

If he hit both tosses (Penn was over the 10-foul limit) then the Lions escape back to Happy Valley with a win. Instead, with much of the crowd of 3,510 looking on in frenzied confusion, Hayes' first shot went in and out.

"It felt good" said Hayes of his first shot. "They were saying, don't worry about it. You missed one. You make one, we go into overtime."

And the game that featured 10 lead changes and five ties in the last 10 minutes of regulation moved into overtime tied at 70.

For a team that thought the game was over, Penn never lost focus in the overtime. Almost immediately, freshman Jerome Allen nailed a 3-pointer and the Quakers never lost their grip of the game after that shot.

Matt Gaudio (17 points) countered with a layup to make it 73-72. After another Quaker hoop, Freddie Barnes (20 points) tied the game at 75 with one of his five 3-pointers. It was the overtime's only tie.

On Penn's next possession, Degitz knocked the ball out of Monroe Brown's hands right into Curran's, who then scored giving Penn a 77-75 lead. Curran missed the foul shot, but on the play, Degitz (14 points on 6-of-8 shooting) fouled out.

Trice added a free throw, making it 78-75 with 1:34 remaining. The heady Gaudio nailed a layup, making it 78-77 with 1:12 left. Quaker reserve Ken Graf hit two free throws, giving Penn a 3-point lead, 80-77. Monnie Brown scored, making it 80-79.

Then came the game's key turnover, and as fate would have it, it involved Hayes. With the Lions down by one, Hayes couldn't find anybody to inbound the ball to, and he traveled while trying to call a timeout.

A potential Lion lead turned into a 3-point Quaker advantage. And with Paul Chambers on the line, it would prove to be insurmountable. The 5-foot-10-inch guard stepped up to the line and calmly sank four more foul shots to seal the game.

"They didn't even have to make a bucket," Parkhill said."We really harp on that."

The Lions will have to bounce back quickly from the loss, because they play Toledo at 7:30 tonight in Rec Hall.