Penn kicks off Big 5 campaign

"It will be an all-out war," is the way La Salle senior captain Kareem Townes described tonight's 7 p.m. unofficial Big 5 battle between Penn and his Explorers (Sports Channel, 88.5 WXPN-FM and 1210 WGMP-AM). The war on the Palestra floor will be waged on several fronts. Penn coach Fran Dunphy will try to outsmart his longtime friend and mentor La Salle coach Speedy Morris. On the court, two strong backcourts will go head to head. Two-time Ivy player of the year Jerome Allen will match up against Townes, the Explorers leading scorer with 23.6 points-per-game. Point guards Matt Maloney and Paul Burke are each second on their respective teams in points. "It should be a sold out Palestra and just a great environment," Morris said. "If you can't get up for this, you shouldn't be playing. In the Big 5, you can always throw the records out the window." That might not bode well for the favored Quakers. Although No. 25 Penn (8-2) has won the last three meetings and is a superior club on paper, the Quakers are coming off a devastating 93-60 loss at the hands of No. 1 UMass Saturday. The Explorers (8-4) do not have any momentum themselves, having suffered a 75-72 setback in the final minutes of Saturday's game with conference rival Xavier. Getting back on the winning track is essential for both programs as they head into the heart of their conference schedules. "It's definitely good for us to be playing again," Penn forward Scott Kegler said. "When you are in competition, you always want a chance to get out there and prove yourself." During last season's 66-62 Quaker victory at the Spectrum, Kegler started in place of Barry Pierce and lit La Salle up with several three-pointers in the first few minutes. The long range barrage paced Penn to an early lead and the Explorers never fully recovered. If the Quakers expect to get any good looks at the basket tonight, they will have to improve markedly from Saturday's dismal showing. "We got hammered, no question about it," Dunphy said. "We watched some film yesterday and we definitely were lacking patience and poise at the offensive end." Without better ball movement, the Penn offense will not generate open looks at the basket for Kegler or his backcourt mates. During practice yesterday the Quakers worked diligently on moving the ball from side to side on the perimeter, and also on getting the post players more involved. "Ball movement is definitely the key," Kegler said. The same is true for La Salle. Too often the Explorers guards become frustrated by the lack of frontcourt scoring and start taking every shot themselves. Townes and Burke will try to get the forwards involved early for some much-needed offensive balance. Everyone is aware that the war in the trenches and on the glass may decide the outcome. "It's my job to make sure everyone's involved," Burke said. "Sometimes it seems like there are five-minute stretches where just Kareem and I shoot. We have to play more like a team and I think we've been pretty successful at that this season." With Maloney and Allen guarding the La Salle backcourt, the Explorers will definitely need points from the pivot. Townes, however, has a knack of finding his shot from anywhere on the court, no matter who is covering him. "He's a difficult guy to defend," Dunphy said. "We won't step out on him at 36 feet, but we'll rotate guys on him all night and pick him up 30 feet from the basket." Although the Quakers will be wary of Townes' exceptional range, the star guard won't always be looking to let it fly. "Last year, my shots got out of hand after a while," Townes said. "It took the fun out of it. Now I try to do a little bit of everything and make everyone feel confident. "Playing Penn is always intense. The Palestra crowd will be into it. It's a challenge we're looking forward to." Both teams will come out fighting.