Penn may have found the consistent second option it has been lacking.
After scoring a career-high 18 points against Indiana State, senior co-captain Charlie Copp scored 12 points against Saint Joseph's on 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
Senior Jeff Schiffner showed yet again Saturday that he is Penn's go-to guy. He scored 23 points and hit 7-of-11 three pointers.
But Copp proved that he too can make big plays on both ends of the floor -- and at crucial junctures in the game. He showed great poise when facing preseason first-team All-American point guard Jameer Nelson.
Last season's Big 5 Most Outstanding Player, came away with 23 points and eight steals, but Copp kept Nelson in check longer than others who have guarded him this year.
"Charlie Copp did a nice job," St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said. "But [Nelson] is hard for any one guy to hold onto in any way, shape or form."
And yet, Copp limited Nelson's half-court offense considerably. Of Nelson's nine field goals, five came on fast-break layups. Many of these layups were a result of Nelson's steals, but only one of his eight steals came off a Copp turnover.
"I tried to make the things [Nelson] does a little bit harder," Copp said. "In the second half, I didn't get as low as I should have, and I picked up a few fouls."
But Copp's two second-half fouls were both arguably good fouls. The first foul came while Copp pressed Nelson in the backcourt with 14:40 remaining and was non-shooting. The second foul came with 52 seconds left in the game and Penn trailing, 61-56, after Copp nearly stole St. Joe's previous inbounds pass.
Our "energy in the second half was a little bit down," Martelli said.
But Copp seemed focused and energized for each of the 36 minutes he played. Among the Quakers, only Schiffner played more, with 39.
"You were sitting there and you could feel the pressure," Martelli said. "It was so damn fast."
Yet at the times when pressure was mounting, Copp made the big play.
When Penn had trouble scoring early in the first half, Copp drained a deep three-pointer with three seconds left on the shot clock, giving Penn its last lead of the game at 8-7.
After hitting two threes within 30 seconds, Schiffner passed up an open look at a three-pointer to set up Copp on the wing. Copp nailed it, cutting St. Joe's lead to 48-45 in the second half.
Copp later returned the favor to Schiffner, hitting him with a no-look pass. Last season's Division I three-point shooting percentage leader hit a three-pointer that cut the lead to six.
With 38 seconds left, Copp nailed a three-pointer -- off an assist by junior Tim Begley -- that cut the lead to three, 62-59.
Copp's most impressive move came early in the second half. After contesting Nelson's floater, Copp leaped above the pack and grabbed the rebound, raced the ball up the court and made an outstanding no-look pass to senior Adam Chubb. The Penn center missed the layup, though.
Other than a bobbled handoff to Begley with six minutes to go -- which was scored as a Begley turnover -- Copp was seemingly error-free in the second half.
Penn's point guard is taking care of the ball, with only six turnovers the whole season. And Copp -- not Schiffner -- leads Penn in field-goal percentage (.577), three-point shooting percentage (.571) and free-throw percentage (1.000).
