Booth proves that Quakers are 'Not Penn State'

The Penn men's basketball team trailed by just four points at the half before the Nittany Lions erupted. STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Ask the average person what a nittany lion is, and you may never get an answer. But ask the Penn men's basketball team who Calvin Booth is, and you will get one immediate answer -- the best interior defensive player that the Quakers will face this season. Penn was a first-hand witness to Booth's second-half, in-the-paint dominance. The all-time Big Ten leader in blocked shots also put together a 20-point performance, leading Penn State (6-2) to a 71-55 victory over the Quakers (2-2) on Saturday afternoon. Interestingly enough, Penn had its chances during the first half, courtesy of Booth's sporadic struggles around the offensive basket. Booth and Penn State guard Joe Crispin nevertheless tallied enough boards and points, respectively, to give Penn State the lead for most of the first half. The Lions' lack of rebounding early on both ends, however, drew the ire of Nittany Lions coach Jerry Dunn, who was visibly upset at his team early in the game. "There was a stretch where we got a little winded [in the first half], and we stopped making good decisions," Dunn said. "That was something we wanted to improve upon, especially after our game Wednesday night [a 63-54 loss at Bradley]." That stretch of poor decisions came in the closing minutes of the first half, as the Quakers came back from eight and six-point deficits against the sluggish Nittany Lions. Penn forward and tri-captain Jed Ryan was instrumental in both rallies, going 3-of-5 from the field, with two of the baskets coming from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Quakers tri-captain Paul Romanczuk added six rebounds, five of which came on the defensive end, as the Penn forwards played a major role in closing the Penn State lead to 30-26 at the midway point of the contest. The Lions, who had won all four home games coming into Saturday's matchup, came out of halftime aiming to send the visitors back to Philadelphia at .500. The Quakers, however, refused to go away, as Penn guard Matt Langel fed Romanczuk for a jumper at 5:03 into the second half. At that point, the scoreboard read 37-35 Penn State and one could feel the tension among the less-than-announced 11,240 crowd. It was only fitting, then, that Penn State guard Dan Earl -- older brother of Princeton senior and notorious Quakers-killer Brian Earl -- put a devastating blow on the Red and Blue. As Earl was pushed by Penn forward Mike Sullivan, he released a three-point shot from the left-center area of the arc. Earl's shot swished down to the bottom of the net, and his ensuing free throw capped the four-point play from which the Quakers never recovered. "We practiced against that play a number of times and were hoping that we wouldn't allow it to happen," Dunphy said. "That play gave them a spark." That "spark" was an eight-minute, 22-4 Lions run that effectively put the game beyond the reach of the Quakers. As the second half progressed, Booth found himself in the paint with only Penn center Geoff Owens to beat. When the one-on-one match-up did not present itself, the other Nittany Lions chipped in, as Crispin and Penn State forward Titus Ivory finished with 14 points apiece. For Penn, guard and tri-captain Michael Jordan struggled mightily with a 1-for-11, four-point showing. Jordan had averaged 18.0 points per game coming into the contest. Quakers forward Frank Brown also did not reach his usual point average of 11.3, as the athletic Penn State defense held him to just two points on the afternoon. Good shooting from Langel, Ryan and Owens resulted in 15, 11 and 12 points, respectively. Still, the Quakers lacked the production that had made the difference in recent big games against Kansas and Temple. "We have felt throughout that anyone on the floor offensively can be a threat on the floor for us," Langel said. "We made some shots that didn't fall in early, and said to ourselves, 'Let this not be like Kansas where we come out in the second half and do not make the shots again.'" Instead, it was Penn State who took control of the game, starting with the Earl turning point. And although Earl struggled with 3-of-10 shooting for eight points, he stole a page from the Princeton playbook when he teamed up for a back-door layup pass from Booth early in the first half. "It just ended up that there was no one on the block [near the paint], so I popped up and went back-door," Earl said. "I just came off the screen, and finally hit one [three-pointer]. It was interesting because it's a little Princeton thing." Although Saturday's game proved a milestone one for Booth, the center had a positive review of Owens, who gave his best effort to match him defensively. "It looks like he's doing alright for himself," Booth said. "He has a couple of nice moves, and anyone that has a sky hook is hard to get to, and he has that move in his arsenal."