AT COURTSIDE: Romanczuk's limited minutes only crippled Penn's frontcourt

By Josh Callahan CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- While Penn's road trip, which went from surprisingly good to suddenly frigid, could be compared to the Northeast's weekend weather, it would be more appropriate to examine the way the Quakers' play closely mirrored the performance of sophomore Paul Romanczuk. His strong overall effort was the key in Penn's win Friday at Dartmouth and the big halftime lead against Harvard, but it was his foul trouble in the second half Saturday night which gave Harvard an opening to exploit. Romanczuk's contribution to the Quakers' inside game is often overlooked by the Penn faithful agape at Geoff Owens' size and Michael Jordan's drives to the hole, but the weekend's games showed that it is Romanczuk who is the catalyst inside. Friday night, he shot 4-of-5 from the field en route to a 14-point, six-rebound game. Additionally, by being a consistent force down low, the sophomore forward attracted the defense inwards, which led to more open shots for Garett Kreitz. Romanczuk's success was due to his ability to stay out of foul trouble. Having racked up a staggering 80 personal fouls -- fouling out five times over the season -- Romanczuk has no one to blame but himself for his average nightly court time of only 26 minutes. Besides causing him to land on the bench, his foul troubles decreased his ability to maintain defensive intensity. Friday night, Romanczuk was whistled for only one foul in an eight-point, four-rebound first half. He ended the game with only three fouls in 32 minutes as the Quakers went on to squeak out a 72-69 win. He took high-percentage shots and drew numerous fouls on offense and he controlled the flow of the game on defense as well. In the final four minutes, Romanczuk drew a foul going for a rebound, started a scramble that led to another rebound, and had an assist. Romanczuk's defensive hustle directly led to six of the Quakers final eight points. Romanczuk's play was again key in the Quakers' 17-0 run in the first half against Harvard, resulting in an 11-point halftime lead for the Red and Blue. Showing patience and excellent shot selection, Romanczuk was 4-of-4 from the field and picked up only one foul in 16 minutes. His presence, along with Geoff Owens, was key in shutting down Harvard's inside scoring leader Kyle Snowden. Snowden scored just two points in the half despite playing all 20 minutes. Snowden got his revenge in the second half and in overtime because Romanczuk fell victim to a sudden rash of fouls. After fouling out with 6:21 left and Penn leading 49-43, Crimson senior Kyle Snowden scored five straight points to bring Harvard within one. Romanczuk played just four minutes and scored two points in the second half, and his overtime stat line was a long line of zeros. With Romanzcuk planted firmly in his chair, Snowden scored 17 points and grabbed 12 boards in the final 25 minutes. "I thought when they lost Romanczuk with five minutes to go that was absolutely huge," Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. "He's such a big focus for them. To find some strength and fight over the last 10 minutes to get the game close and get into overtime was very satisfying." Romanczuk played about 20 seconds during those final 10 minutes, giving Harvard the edge they needed inside to pull even in regulation and dominate the overtime.

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