Quakers put on an exhibition

Freshman Matt Langel led Penn with 18 points in a 75-56 preseason victory over the USDBL All-Stars. The band was there. The cheerleaders were there. Heck, even Tim Krug and Jerome Allen were there. A few spectators even put in appearances. If you didn't know better, you'd have sworn that the Penn basketball season had broken out at the Palestra last night. As it was, the Quakers were simply warming up, disposing of something called the USDBL All-Star team by a score of 75-56 in exhibition play in front of a miniscule crowd. With the exception of a few minutes in the first half when the USDBL squad went on a 9-0 run, Penn dominated the game. Despite playing without sophomore forwards Frank Brown and Paul Romanczuk, the Quakers looked better-coordinated at both ends of the floor. Their opponents have no set team for their tour, picking up former college stars like Penn's Tim Krug and Temple's Levan Alston in each new city. The game was tight through most of the first half. With six minutes left, though, a three-pointer from guard Garett Kreitz put Penn up 19-18. For the rest of the half, the home team's guards were hot. Eight points, including a pair of treys from freshman guard Matt Langel, sent the Quakers on to a 32-23 halftime edge and an easy victory. But the game wasn't about the score or even winning and losing. Mostly it was a chance to introduce new faces -- something the 1996-97 Quakers don't lack. It was the first time in a Penn uniform for several players, though not their uniforms, since the season's game uniforms have not arrived yet. "Even though it wasn't the right uniform, it still felt pretty good," Penn freshman center Geoff Owens said. The frosh saw plenty of playing time, as did sophomore George Mboya, a transfer from Rice who sat out the 1995-96 season. Although the game doesn't count, Mboya's anxiety was evident as he nearly missed everything on his first shot from the field. "Contrary to what I thought, I felt tight. There was tightness there I didn't expect," Mboya said. "I think it was just the first time out." Penn coach Fran Dunphy had said that he was looking for his guards to coordinate well. He had to pleased through most of the contest, as captain Jamie Lyren hooked up with Langel, Kreitz and Michael Jordan to create open looks on the perimeter. Langel had the hot hand, shooting 7-of-15 overall, but 4-of-8 from downtown. Langel was the high man with 18 points, while the other three main guards combined for 38 more. Naturally, there were chinks in the team's armor. With the exception of the 6-foot-11 Owens, Penn is woefully undersized in the front court. Mboya, 6-6, played one forward for much of the night with 6-7 Jed Ryan and Owens also getting plenty of minutes. The defensive problems showed up in the ability of the USDBL team to score on the low block, especially in the first half. "Our defense was okay -- I thought we did some good things defensively," Dunphy said. "But we're going to have to do some things to improve our post position defense. Our interior defense must improve because we're not going to be very tall." Dunphy also expressed frustration with some of Penn's decision-making. Kreitz fouled out of the game with six minutes left, and Jordan picked up a foul just before halftime that forced Dunphy to take him out of the game. In addition, the frontcourt was largely invisible offensively in the first half. Penn will need Mboya and Ryan, as well as the injured Romanczuk, to be threats down low to set up the sharp shooters outside. Still, there's time to worry about that before Towson State invades on December 3 for the season opener.