M. Hoops hopes to erase bad memories

Quakers battle St. Joe's in Big 5 Last year, the Penn and St. Joseph's men's basketball teams brought the spirit of the Big 5 back to Palestra in late January – to honor the tradition of this dwindling basketball union. Last year, Penn was cruising along in its schedule, and faced St. Joe's on that nostalgic evening of basketball. Despite coming off a 14-point loss to Temple at the Spectrum the week before, the Quakers were ready to return to the Palestra and turn back the clock. Last year, when then-junior forward Barry Pierce hit a three-pointer with 18:11 to play in the first half, red and blue streamers flew from the stands and rained on the Palestra hardwood. That three-pointer brought the Quakers within one point of the Hawks at 4-3. For Penn, the celebration ended quickly as St. Joe's erupted for 20 unanswered points and the streamer-throwing was over for the Quakers and their faithful, as the Hawks rolled to a 94-72 win. That was last year. Welcome to a new season, where St. Joe's (3-1) and Penn (2-1) will play the inaugural Big 5 game of the season tomorrow at the Spectrum (noon, WOGL 1210 AM). This time, without the streamers and banners, the Quakers are anxious to show that last year's meeting was an aberration. "Well, St. Joe's put it to us last year," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "We'd certainly like to play better and we expect another tough game." The Quakers finished 1-1 in the Big 5 last year. They squashed Villanova 71-59 in their first game, but fell to Temple, 72-58 in their second City Series game. Temple and Villanova will play the second game of the Big 5 doubleheader following the Penn game. As part of the current City Series contract, each school only plays two official games against Big 5 schools, instead of four, a tradition that ended in 1991. Tomorrow, Penn will be looking not only to avenge last year's loss – its worst of the season – but it will also be looking to snap a 14-game losing streak against St. Joe's, a streak that began in 1980. Although this year's St. Joe's team is a strong one, it will be missing one of its biggest components, Bernard Blunt, who broke his kneecap in the Hawks' December 1 loss to Arizona. Last season, Blunt (22 points, 10 rebounds in last year's game at the Palestra) led the team in scoring with 18 points per game, and his absence should be a factor in the game. It is the second big injury to cripple coach John Griffin's team, as senior forward Bernard Jones – who scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds against the Quakers last year – ruptured his patellar tendon over the summer and is gone for the season. "While they lost Blunt, this team has some similarities to us in that they have returned many of the same players," Dunphy said. "Rap Curry is good, as is [Mark] Bass, and [Dmitri] Domani is one of the most underrated players in Philadelphia." The Hawks are led by 6-7 senior Carlin Warley, who is averaging 15 points and a whopping 13 rebounds per game. Both are good enough to lead the team. In addition to Warley, Curry and freshman Domani have combined for an average of 27 points a game. Domani's story is impressive, as the freshman from Moscow is averaging 13 points a game in his first four collegiate games. These players are the heart of the St. Joe's squad, which suffered a 93-73 road loss to Arizona, but just came off a 93-75 win over New York AAU at Alumni Fieldhouse. St. Joe's will have to contend, however, with a Penn team that has a well-balanced attack of its own. Junior point guard Matt Maloney and junior shooting guard Jerome Allen have combined for an average of 33 of Penn's 73 points per game. In addition, Pierce, now the team's senior captain, leads Penn in scoring (17.3) and in blocks (3). The Quakers are coming off a 15-point win at Fairleigh Dickinson last Saturday, and Dunphy believes that playing a Big 5 game will sufficiently motivate his team. "Anytime you play a city opponent, you get an extra feeling of added attention," Dunphy said. "We'd like to get a victory and we're going to be prepared when the bell rings at noon on Saturday." Prepared to win a game, and wipe out one stain on a nearly-unblemished 1992-1993 season. But that, of course, was last year.