BYU-Hawaii not one to overlook

LAIE, Hawaii ƒ_" The game program at Friday night's game between Brigham Young-Hawaii and Cheney (Pa.) noted that the Seasiders' next game would be Saturday against the University of Philadelphia. Oh what Penn's Division-II opponents have to learn. When the University of Pennsylvania rolls into town Saturday, the Quakers will still be coming off the high of beating a good Hawaii squad Thursday night. And BYU-Hawaii will have little time to prepare after being pushed to the limit by a Cheney team that featured nine Philadelphians the night before. The Seasiders (3-4, 0-2 Pacific West) fell behind early before playing 30 solid minutes to finish out a 66-60 win in front of a sparse crowd of about 200. Welcome to D-II basketball. Penn will take the court Saturday in a much different environment than they faced 30 miles to the south in Honolulu. The fans will be minimal. Band? Nope. Cheerleaders? Well, there were a few dedicated students, but it was far from organized. But regardless of the surroundings, Penn will have to play focused basketball, because no matter what the front of the jersey says, the guys from BYUH are there to win just like anyone else. Fortunately for the Quakers (4-4), their talent will be on another level. Against Cheney, junior Eric Boyce showed his shooting prowess, knocking down four three-pointers and finishing with 18 points. The guard is listed at 6-feet on the roster, but looks to be closer to 5-10. One way or another, the Folson, Calif., native can shoot. Inside, senior Austin Smylie found himself the target of a handful of backdoor passes that would have made Pete Carill himself proud. The 6-6 forward capitalized on a handful of uncontested layups, something he has been doing all season. Those are the bright spots for BYUH. There are a lot of weaknesses a deeper and more skilled Penn team will be able to exploit out of the gate. For one, the Seasiders, who lost back-to-back contests recently to D-II power Chaminade, cannot handle pressure. Cheney coach Cleo Hill shifted his defense into full and three-quarter court press during halftime and that caught BUYH completely off guard. Anyone who hustles has a steal waiting for them from the hands of Boyce who is the primary ball handler. Add in a lack of a transition game ƒ_" on offense or defense ƒ_" and the opportunities are endless for the Quakers. Penn's shooters should have little trouble with BYUH's 2-3 zone, not to mention having at last a height advantage ƒ_" a departure from the past four games against larger, more athletic opponents. But the last thing Penn ought to do is be overconfident. The beauty of college basketball is that any team can win on any given night. Just ask Princeton who was embarrassed on its own floor by D-III Carnegie Mellon earlier this week. This game should be a good learning experience for the Quakers, as the Seasiders appear to match up like any other lower-tier Ivy League team. After all, there are two games apiece against the Dartmouths and Browns of the world. Putting together a solid 40 minutes against an outmatched opponent would be just as valuable as that three-point win over the Rainbow Warriors just three days prior. Penn fans just have to hope the team that shows up isn't the elusive University of Philadelphia. NOTES: Penn's last game against a non-Division-I opponent was a 114-73 win over Haverford in 1993. * BYU-Hawaii's enrollment is listed at 2,000, making it the smallest school Penn has faced this season. By contrast, Hawaii (20,463 students) and Colorado (27,954) are Penn's two largest opponents this season. * Seasiders coach Ken Wagner has recorded 292 wins at BYUH against 149 losses. He is also the recipient of three straight Pacific West coach of the year honors. On the other side, Penn's Fran Dunphy has 294 wins and 158 losses. * BYUH's roster includes six players from the state of Utah and three from Hawaii.

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