After scoring 85 against Harvard, Penn offense disappears

Probably the most frustrating aspect of the past weekend for the Penn basketball team was that the Quakers, if for only one game, gave an indication of just how good this young team can be before slipping back to their routine level of play against Dartmouth. The Quakers team which took the floor on Saturday in no way resembled the group which had lit up the Palestra the previous night. Friday's offensive performance against Harvard caught the Crimson by surprise. Harvard coach Frank Sullivan commented how he could not tell Penn would explode for 85 points by looking at tapes of previous Quakers games. Earlier in the season, St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli made the bold statement that Penn ran the best offense his team would see this year. For most of the season that comment seemed unjustified as Penn struggled offensively, averaging only 65.6 points per game entering the weekend. Martelli must have envisioned nights like Friday when he complemented Penn coach Fran Dunphy's system. Matt Langel and Michael Jordan opened the game with three-pointers for the Quakers, signalling the start of a three-point clinic. Penn guard Garett Kreitz showed why he is one of the most dangerous stand-still three-point bombers in the Ivy League by nailing three from downtown in just one minute. Kreitz effectively came off screens to set himself up for the high-arcing shots that now bring trademark sounds of anticipation throughout the Palestra. Jordan even got into the act, hitting four of five treys for the game after making only 12 in the Quakers' previous 16 games. Yet even as Penn burned the Crimson from long range, hitting 12-of-20 three-pointers for the game, Sullivan stuck with his man defense instead of moving to a zone. "Any time you are making shots, it looks like you are executing well," Dunphy said. While the Penn offense began with the three-pointer Friday, it did not end with it, as has been the case for most of the season. Forwards Paul Romanczuk and Jed Ryan made aggressive moves to the basket to get lay-ups. Jordan slashed to the hoop and found the big men with his passes for lay-ups. The Quakers, who had almost as many turnovers as assists entering the game, turned the ball over only nine times while dishing out 20 assists, including six by Jamie Lyren, who did not commit a single turnover. "We were not prepared for how difficult it was to guard them," Sullivan said. "It manifested itself on offense because we expended ourselves so much on defense." While it would be unreasonable to think Penn could hit 56 percent of its shots every game, the decline against Dartmouth was especially steep. Penn's total of 70 points was above its average, but 14 of those came in garbage time with a minute left in overtime. Dartmouth limited Penn to just 33 percent shooting from the field. Every facet of the Quakers' offense, with the exception of Jordan's shooting, seemed to have disappeared into the rafters at the Palestra. Dartmouth keyed on stopping the threes, and Penn responded by shooting as if there was a lid on the basket. The first half saw Penn make only one of eight three-point attempts. Kreitz was consistently covered by the Big Green's P.J. Halas and could not get the open looks he needs to score. Kreitz followed each miss by taking longer and longer shots, trying to hit at least one to get on a streak. Yet the three-point shooting was not the only missing element. Jordan's drives to the hoop too often ended with the freshman guard having no options. Even the usually reliable Romanczuk had a miserable 1-of-10 performance on a variety of up-close shots. The Quakers had four stretches of at least four minutes where they could not manage a single field goal. Yet Penn somehow still was in the game in the closing seconds of regulation. "It's unbelievable we were at that stage," Dunphy said. It was at this time that the one consistent aspect of Penn's offense for the entire weekend fell apart. After making a concerted effort to work on free throws in practice, the Quakers had hit over 80 percent of their shots from the charity stripe this weekend. Then, with 2.9 seconds left in a tie game, George Mboya picked the wrong time for his Shaquille O'Neal impersonation. The sophomore forward bricked both foul shots. While Dartmouth's defense had much to do with the Quakers' dismal performance, the Harvard game proved Penn does have the ability to shoot the lights out. Yet too often this season, the flashes of brilliance have been aberrations rather than performances the young Quakers have built upon in following games.