AT COURTSIDE: Leopards use size to diminate Penn

A 15-rebound deficit, largely due to Lafayette's inside threat Stefan Ciosici, was too much for Penn. EASTON, Pa. -- This season, Quakers fans have often witnessed Penn go through dry spells offensively, only to come out aggressive in the second half and make a game of it. But versus Lafayette last night, it looked as if the Quakers, stuck in a defensive rut all evening, would rather be anywhere but snowy Easton, Pa. Penn came out lethargic in the first half and quickly found themselves down 9-5. When the first-half buzzer sounded, the Quakers held the lead by the narrowest of margins, 34-32. All night Penn was unable to contain the Leopards' sophomore tandem of Ted Cole and Stefan Ciosici ,who finished with 15 and 24 points, respectively. The young home squad, led by ex-Quakers assistant Fran O'Hanlon, had an answer for nearly every Penn run. In past games, Penn had been able to come out in the second half and use the three-point shot to get them back in the game. And again last night when junior Garett Kreitz hit three treys to open the second half it appeared the three-point bomb would save the day for Penn. But with the Quakers up 51-44, the long-range shooting vanished. A few minutes later, the Leopards had knotted the game at 51. From the 10-minute mark on, Penn never had an answer to Lafayette's relentless pressure and intensity on the boards. The glaring statistic for the game was the rebound differential. The Red and Blue was out-rebounded 48-33, allowing Lafayette to score a majority of its 32 first-half points on second-chance opportunities and remain in the game. Thirteen offensive rebounds led to two-thirds of the Leopards' first-half total. Penn coach Fran Dunphy felt the poor rebounding effort was merely a microcosm of the entire season. "Yes -- no question about it -- we are not a good rebounding team," Dunphy said. "In general, we are not a good defensive team, and we are going to have to find some ways to get better defensively because rebounding is certainly a big problem for us now." In addition to the rebounding deficit, Penn fell into the bad habit of giving away leads. After blowing a seven-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half, the Quakers squandered another seven-point lead. This time, it was a back-breaker. Up 64-57, the Leopards bounced back to go on a 15-6 run of their own. The run came over the span of five minutes, and when Penn finally took a timeout, the score read 72-70. Penn's lackadaisical effort in the opening minutes surprised O'Hanlon, who can remember the glory years of three seasons ago when Penn prided itself on its intensity. "I think they were a little flat in the beginning of the game," O'Hanlon said. "And we took advantage of that. They might have been a little tired after the game against La Salle. But it feels great to win." It was clear from the outset that Penn might be battling something more than just a first-half lull. Without 6-foot-11 freshman Geoff Owens -- who was plagued with foul trouble all night -- clogging the middle, Lafayette took advantage of its size edge. "I think we were able to take advantage of our size once Geoff Owens got in foul trouble," O'Hanlon said. "And for us that was probably the key to the game." Now with the Ivy season just five days away, Dunphy and his young squad have to hope that last night's effort was merely a fluke. Point guard Jamie Lyren's five turnovers and forward George Mboya's one rebound particularly upset Dunphy. Kreitz, who finished with 21 points on 5-12 shooting from downtown, also displayed a particular displeasure with Penn's effort. "We didn't execute well, so now we need to concentrate and take what we can take away from tonight and practice hard for the Ivy season," he said. Quakers sophomore forward Paul Romanczuk, who finished with a game-high 24 points echoed the sentiments of his teammate. "You hope we can learn from this," Romanczuk said. "Tomorrow is another day, and we will come out to practice and work hard at our weaknesses." Certainly, Penn realized that it can no longer afford to start games in a fog. It will be essential for the Quakers to reduce their sloppy ball-handling, go back to basics and learn to box out under the basket. If Penn can't solve these problems -- and come out aggressive in the first half -- it could be a very long Ivy season.