GAME ANALYSIS: Penn beaten on boards by smaller foes

Despite starting a 6'6" center, Colgate outrebounded the Quakers 39-30, including a 16-5 edge in offensive boards. Penn center Geoff Owens finished Saturday's game against Colgate with four blocks -- all of which came in the first half -- and provided a huge presence on defense for the Quakers. But when Penn took control of the ball, Owens often left his tenacious play at the other end of the court. Of his six total rebounds, none came when the Red and Blue had the ball. And he wasn't alone. Power forward Paul Romanczuk grabbed only one rebound off the offensive glass, while small forward Jed Ryan was unable to come up with any. In fact, Penn accumulated only five offensive rebounds during the game, its lowest total of the year. "When the ball goes up on the glass, we've got to go and take care of it," Penn assistant coach Steve Donahue said. "And for the most part this year, we have. You can see we're outrebounding teams." Although the Quakers have not been dominating on the boards, they have been pulling down more than the opposition. Coming into the game, Penn had outrebounded every opponent this season except Kansas, Penn State and Hofstra -- the three teams that beat the Quakers. That changed this past weekend when Colgate had 39 rebounds, compared to Penn's mere 30. More importantly, the Red Raiders had 16 offensive boards, more than triple Penn's total. "The [Colgate] kids on the inside, I think, worked their butts off. I counted 16 offensive rebounds; that's what they do. They outworked us at times," Donahue said. "Offensively, I thought we got a little stagnant and they beat us to the boards." The inability of the Quakers to work the boards contributed immensely to their inability to put the Red Raiders away. At the half, with Penn holding a 33-22 lead, the Quakers had an 18-17 advantage on the boards, although Colgate had seven offensive rebounds -- four more than Penn. The second half was a different story, however, as Colgate outrebounded Penn 21-12. "We've got to learn how to, in the second half, just keep the pressure on teams and pump [our lead] out to 25, 30," Romanczuk said. "They're a very physical team. They went and got the ball off the offensive glass. "When you play that style of basketball, you're going to be in the game and [Colgate] was." The Red Raiders played like they were in the game, but in the end, Penn's talent and athleticism allowed the Quakers to come out with an 18-point victory. But the fact that the Quakers were outhustled and outrebounded by a less athletic team whose tallest starter is 6'6" is somewhat disturbing -- especially for players like the 6'11" Owens who has been inconsistent for much of the season. "Geoff was a little tentative today," Donahue said. "[Colgate] is a tough team for him. They have some seniors that are strong, low to the ground, have some leverage on him. And he's got to get better at that. That being said, I thought he was a defensive presence the whole game." That presence evaporated on offense, though, as he was often outworked by Colgate players like Pat Campolieta and Jordan Harris -- men six inches shorter than Penn's big man. Against teams like Colgate, Owens and the Quakers can have games like Saturday's and still pull out a win. But they won't be playing Colgate again for the rest of the season. And if the offensive boards do not start piling up, neither will the wins.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.