Quakers look to get to 2-0 against tired Dragons

NEW YORK -- When Penn and Drexel tip off at 4 p.m. on Saturday, it will be the second time the Dragons will be taking the floor in less than 24 hours -- in two different cities. The game will also be Drexel's fourth in sixth days. "It's tough," Dragons coach Bruiser Flint said after his team's loss to No. 1 Duke Wednesday night, of having to play so often in the last week. However, Flint said that just as his team was able to get up to play the Blue Devils, it will be able to get up for the Quakers. Penn (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) is coming off an 82-77 win over Siena last Monday night that was closer than many expected it to be. And although the Dragons (3-1, 0-0 CAA) have played well this season and earned some national attention with their effort against the Blue Devils, they remember the 81-50 whipping that the Quakers handed them last season. "We got beat by 30 last year," Flint said. "We know why we got to play those guys," he added. With the Dragons out for revenge, the key matchup will be the two backcourts. Penn will need strong play out of junior Ibrahim Jaaber -- who was the Quakers' best player by far against the Saints -- and sophomore David Whitehurst -- who gave Penn a big lift on both ends of the floor in his 19 minutes on a surgically repaired ankle. "They got a couple guards," was Flint's deliberate understatement. They will be up against juniors Dominick Mejia and Bashir Mason. Mejia is averaging 18.8 points per game, and lit up the Blue Devils on Wednesday night to the tune of 25 points. Mason poured in 15 -- right around his season average -- and averages six assists a game. The duo tired somewhat in the second half Wednesday -- shooting only 4-of-16 from the field in the final 20 minutes, and the Quakers are counting on Jaaber and Co. to do the same Saturday, or it could be a long afternoon. Flint said that the game will be even more interesting because of the familiarity of the two teams. Although he will not game-plan for the Quakers until after his team faces No. 16 UCLA Friday afternoon, Flint said that his players are all familiar with the Penn players from having games against them every year as well as playing pick-up games over the summer. Flint said that he saw Jaaber very frequently over those months. Despite the high-profile backcourt matchup, Penn cannot ignore senior forward Kennel Sanchez. He scored 11 against Duke, and Quakers fans may remember Sanchez scoring 17 points as a sophomore against Penn in a hard-fought 79-73 Quakers win. Penn will be aided in its frontcourt if junior Mark Zoller makes his season debut. Zoller sat the Siena game out with an injured ankle suffered several weeks earlier in practice, and no word has been given yet whether he is expected to play Saturday. Drexel will certainly be tired, but they will be ready to try to beat Penn for just the second time since 1996. And while the Quakers may be happy to face a tired team, they will not take the Dragons lightly. Note:The start of the game was moved back to 4 p.m. from an earlier announced time of 2 after the Dragons advanced to the preseason NIT final four at Madison Square Garden. Drexel plays Friday afternoon in New York before returning to Philadelphia. For a recap of Saturday's game, check out dailypennsylvanian.com afterwards.