Balance is key to Penn's victory over La Salle

Bill "Speedy" Morris said his La Salle Explorers are not the smartest guys in the world, but they are not stupid, either. They had watched tapes of the Pennsylvania Quakers. They had watched last year's matchup when La Salle nearly won a game it trailed by 22 points. Last night at the Palestra, Morris watched helplessly as Penn guard Scott Kegler drained wide-open three-pointers and the Quakers cruised to a 90-71 win. Morris felt an explanation was due, but he was unable to offer one. "The kid can make naked threes with his eyes closed," Morris said. "Letting him get those shots in the first half that he got was just awful. It looks like we weren't prepared." Kegler finished with a team-high 19 points, one of six Quakers who scored in double figures. He drained four of five treys, leaving Morris frustrated with his team's lack of aggressiveness. "They just beat us in all phases of the game," Morris said. "I can't explain it. As bad as people said we were last year, we were in every game." Kegler's performance was a result of pride. He was embarrassed after the Quakers got blown out Saturday at No. 1 Massachusetts. "You sort of shake your head and say, 'Wow, what the heck happened?'" he explained. So in the two days of practice leading up to last night's game, Kegler and his teammates got back to fundamentals -- the things coach Fran Dunphy had preached since Kegler was a freshman. The fundamentals turned out to be passing and the three-pointer. Penn (9-2), ranked No. 25 in this week's Associated Press poll, responded with a 23-9 run to open the game. With plenty of time to set and look at the basket, Penn's three-point bombers were back on target after being silenced against the Minutemen. "This is a pretty bright group of kids who were disappointed in their performance up there," Dunphy said. "To come back this way is not surprising to me, and yet I'm not sure how much better we could have played." Morris called timeout to try to stop the bleeding, but it got worse before it got better. Quakers guard Matt Maloney drained a pair of three-pointers and Penn put on a passing exhibition to find the open man. The chess match between Dunphy and his mentor turned out to be a Quakers blitzkrieg of three-pointers for which La Salle (8-5) could muster little response. Morris called another timeout five minutes later. The score was 33-15. How much were things going the Quakers' way? Kegler stole a ball, dribbled down the court and took several steps. Rather than a travel call, he was rewarded with two free throws, which he promptly swished to give Penn a 40-21 lead. The Explorers couldn't claw back against a team with as many weapons as the Quakers. Penn's star guard, Jerome Allen, attempted just one shot in the first half, and still the Quakers led 54-31 at the break. It was the most points Penn scored in the first half all season. The Quakers shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half, and eight of 14 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Allen finished with two points, which is all you need to know about the guard's unselfish play and ability to distribute the ball. On the other hand, La Salle guard Kareem Townes was a one-man show for the Explorers. He scored 36 points, more than half his team's output. Townes knew there was little he could do on his own to offset Penn's balanced attack. "One person can't carry a load," he said. "They wore me down bringing a fresh body on me. I could have scored a million points tonight, they were going to beat us because they play well together." Townes led the Explorers to within 13 points with 13 minutes remaining in the game. It was a reminder of last year's official Big 5 game at the Spectrum when La Salle closed to within two points with 6:15 to play after trailing by 22. But last night, Penn went on a 15-2 run to restore the rout. When it was over, both coaches couldn't help but point to the beginning of the game, when La Salle didn't match Penn's aggressiveness. "It's tough to come back against a team that's got a lot of answers," Morris said. "They have an excellent outside game. They can go inside. Jerome Allen doesn't care if he scores. He passes the ball to open people, and doesn't really force anything."