Quakers dominate Lafayette in Easton

EASTON -- For Penn junior center Tim Krug and senior guard Matt Maloney, last night's contest at Lafayette couldn't have come soon enough. Both had failed to take advantage of key chances at St. Joe's on Saturday, with Maloney missing a pressure free throw and Krug not converting a critical jump hook in overtime. As a result, a determined Maloney and an emotional Krug came out eager to exorcise the demons of a disappointing loss. They not only did so, they did so in dominating fashion, helping the Quakers to roll over the overmatched Leopards 92-57 at Allan P. Kirby Field House. "For me personally, it was just a matter of having a really bad game and losing [on Saturday]," said Maloney, who scored 13 points. "I was feeling bad about it. I can't speak for everyone, but I know I wanted to improve, and to come back and play a better game tonight." When Penn (10-3) is clicking on all cylinders, the offense is a balanced one. That balance was on display last night -- Maloney also chipped in seven assists and four rebounds. Despite coming off a horrific shooting night, he did not try to force his shot and regain his touch. It was this willingness to work within the system that made him effective. He hit three of five from international waters. Krug was also impressive, coming up with the best all-around performance of his Penn career. He was simply too much for the undersized Leopards frontcourt of Dana Doran and Joe Marshall to stop in the paint. And once Doran and Marshall got in foul trouble, they couldn't even hope to contain him. In just 20 minutes, the fiery sixth-man led Penn with 15 points. "When we get in foul trouble, a lot of flags go up," Lafayette coach John Leone would say later. Krug was constantly around the ball, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds and blocking a career-high six shots. The blocked shots were powerful ones, and they started a number of fast-break opportunities for the Quakers. It was the Penn transition game that put the game out of reach. "I think their guards were having a little bit of trouble handling the ball, and things got kind of sketchy," Krug said. "The drives and the shots just come down the lane, and that's our job as a defense. It's not the NBA -- there's no one-on-one. We help each other on defense, and we want to block shots like that." Things didn't start off perfect for Penn, however. The team appeared anxious to get back in action and erase the memory of Saturday's overtime collapse. Once the opening tip went up, it was clear they were too anxious. The Quakers tried to put Lafayette away in the first few minutes, and their first five possessions resulted in three missed jump shots, a missed layup, a turnover and no points. "I think we were really impatient on the offensive end," senior forward Shawn Trice said. "I thought we calmed down with about 15 minutes left before halftime and played better. We had a rough loss, and we were just trying to do too many things too fast." Once Penn settled in, it gradually was able to build its lead. The Leopards, to make things worse, were trying to survive without their most prolific scorer, Craig Kowadla (18.3 ppg). Kowadla was forced to sit the game out with a dislocated finger on his left hand. After Penn senior guard Jerome Allen found a cutting Eric Moore for a transition layup to put the Quakers up 12-10, Lafayette (2-15) never led again. Penn coach Fran Dunphy went to his bench early and often, putting four non-starters on the floor, first with Maloney and then with Allen. The constant juggling of lineups did lead to stretches of sloppy play, and the Leopards even had a chance to take some momentum with them into halftime. Instead things fell apart for Lafayette. In the final five seconds, freshman guard Alfred McAllister missed two free throws which could have cut Penn's lead to 15. Allen grabbed the rebound, raced downcourt and launched a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. It missed, but freshman Andre Pendleton fouled Allen. As Leone berated the officials, the Quakers' captain knocked down two of three shots for a 19-point halftime lead. In the second half, the Quakers picked up their defensive tenacity. The Leopards had difficulty getting good shots and finished the game with 23 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Penn bench was cleared at the four-minute mark, when senior forward Cedric Laster and freshman guard Garett Kreitz entered the game. "Those guys have worked hard here, and it's nice to see them get a chance to play," Dunphy said later. It was nice for the Penn starters as well. The Quakers have now played two games in three days, and they are a somewhat banged-up team. Last night's game was a chance for Maloney, Allen and Moore to rest. It was a chance for them to start getting healthy. And of course, it was the last game before Princeton.

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