AT COURTSIDE: It's life or death with the trifecta

Penn didn't knock down any three-pointers in the second half last night. All season long, Penn has lived and died by the three-point bomb. In last night's loss to 58-52 Drexel, the Quakers' woeful performance from behind the arc (23.5 percent) allowed the Dragons to build an 11-point lead which, in the end, proved to be insurmountable. Heading into last night's game, Penn had averaged 21 three-point attempts per contest, comprising nearly half of the Red and Blue's total shots per game (55). Over the break the Quakers' two games in the Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic perfectly illustrated Penn's reliance on the long ball. Versus Florida, Penn, en route to a 71-63 victory, made 40 percent of its three-point field goals. Against Arizona, the Quakers shot 18 percent from downtown and lost by over 40 points, 93-51. Even since returning to the East Coast the Quakers have continued to struggle from behind the arc, connecting on only 15-of-43 three-point attempts against Yale and Brown this past weekend. Yet coach Fran Dunphy has continued to show faith in his three point shooters. "I don't want them to lose confidence," Dunphy said. "The fact is that [Garett] Kreitz, [Michael] Jordan and [Matt] Langel can all make those shots. I would just like them to take good shots. There were probably a number of forced shots that I would rather not have." Certainly that would explain freshman Jordan's poor stat line -- 3-for-13 on the night. Jordan who has nailed only 29 percent of his three-point shots, several times forced the issue from behind the arc where he finished a dismal 1-for-6. Kreitz, Penn's leading scorer (12.7 points per game), walked off the court without hitting a field goal. In addition to that, the junior guard from Cresskill, N.J., who normally attempts seven treys per game, only managed three. In fact, over the past three games Kreitz's 44 percent three-point shooting has fallen off dramatically. After hitting only 5-of-18 three pointers against the Bulldogs, Bears and Dragons, Dunphy tried to explain why Kreitz's most recent numbers were off. "I think opponents right now are keying on him," Dunphy said. "All the scouting reports say that Garett Kreitz is an outstanding stand-still three-point shooter." What Dunphy would like to see happen is for Kreitz, who has only put up 21 shots from inside the arc in ten games, is to "shot fake, get in the gap and make a mid-range jumper." Recognizing the Quakers' dire need to make the three, Drexel coach Bill Herrion knew exactly what his Dragons (9-6) had to do in order to curb their two-game losing streak. "Watching the films, the strength of Penn's basketball team right now is that they can really shoot the three," Herrion said. "And defensively, our key was trying to take away threes. I thought we did a great job limiting Kreitz and Langel." The other long-range threat on the Red and Blue roster, Langel, could only muster three-points on 1-of-6 shooting. That left all the burden of the Quakers offense on Paul Romanczuk's shoulders, who led Penn with 17 points (14 of which came in the second half) and eight rebounds. From the outset, it appeared as though it might be a long night for the Quakers. After seven minutes of action, Penn had only hit two jumpers and midway through the first half, the Dragons had jumped out to a seven-point lead. The ironic statistic in the first half was that Penn made 50 percent of its three-point attempts (4-8) but only three other shots. Shooting just 28 percent at the break, the Quakers were lucky to be down by only nine. In the second half, Penn tightened its defense, holding the Dragons to under 15 points in the final 10 minutes. This gave the Quakers the opportunity to close Drexel's 11-point lead to two. But, unable to dial long distance once in the final twenty minutes (0-for-9), Penn's chance at a comeback quickly faded. One thing last night's game against Drexel reiterated to Dunphy and his coaching staff is that when Penn can not hit from downtown, suddenly their offensive choices become very limited. "Right now, we need to work harder on establishing an inside game," Dunphy said. "That in turn will help to free up our long distance shooters and give them better looks at the basket."