M. Hoops Notebook: Shooting just enough to win

HONOLULU -- Good thing for Penn Thursday night's game wasn't the Susquehanna Shootout. While the Quakers struggled mightily from the foul line, their six for 15 performance was enough to squeak by Hawaii, 58-55. They would not have had much success in the student halftime shooting contest at the Palestra, though. Penn (4-4) made eight trips to the line against the Rainbow Warriors (7-4, 1-0 WAC) and failed eight times to make both shots. So when junior Steve Danley took to the line for a one-and-one with 21 seconds to play and a two point lead, the smattering of Quakers fans got nervous. Swish. Fittingly, though the 6-foot-8 forward missed the second. The same scene repeated itself with six seconds to go and Danley gave Penn its final margin of three. "We did not shoot it well from the foul line, but luckily neither did they," said coach Fran Dunphy. "Hopefully we'll get better at it." Forty percent was the Quakers' worst performance on the season from the foul line, surpassing a 10-of-21 outing against Colorado. It also brought Penn's season average down to 63.4 percent (111 of 175). BEHIND THE LINE The long-range shots weren't falling much easier, either. Penn finished with just four three-pointers in 17 attempts for 23.5 percent. That's on par with the season average of 25.5, but still well below what the team shot last year. The Tim Begley-led Quakers hit 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. On the current campaign, Penn hit that mark just twice -- a six-of-16 performance against Drexel and eight-of-21 against No. 1 Duke. DEFENSIVE MINDED As the old saying goes, defense wins championships. By now, Penn must be feeling pretty good. The Quakers have shown their prowess on the defensive end in their last four games against quality opponents. A large, physical Temple team managed just 50. Top-ranked Duke, averaging 81.4 points per game, was held to 72. No. 3 Villanova has scored 78 or more against every opponent except Penn -- when the Wildcats managed just 62 at the Palestra. And Hawaii, who hung 84 on then-No. 4 Michigan State, finished with a paltry 55, 15 below the Rainbows' season average. It's been a hard-nosed and aggressive effort of late, and the energy has paid dividends. "We think we're a very good defensive team," Danley said. "We've got a lot of guys who go out and put pressure on people, and we pride ourselves on that." NOT FOR LOOKS Danley sported a headband in Thursday's outing, but asserted that it wasn't a change in style. It was a precautionary measure as a gash in his forehead requiring 14 stitches was healing. "I think that's just them making me look silly," Danley said jokingly. He came down hard in the Dec. 7 loss to Duke and missed the Villanova game with a concussion. Everything "feels fine" now, he said. RPI WATCH What a difference a road win can make. Penn entered the Hawaii contest at 67th in the Ratings Percentage Index. When the Quakers improved to 4-4 against the nations fourth toughest schedule, that ranking jumped to 39. But don't expect it to stay there. Penn plays just two more teams with RPIs better than 60 -- Saint Joseph's and La Salle -- and four ranked worse than 300. The Citadel, who the Quakers will face Jan. 4, is the low point at 322nd out of 330 Division-I teams. HIT THE BEACH With one win under their belts on this trip, the Quakers will have some time to relax Friday before getting ready for Brigham Young-Hawaii on Saturday. The team will be traveling to Oahu's North Shore, known for its famous surf. The forecast calls for 20- to 25-foot waves, which is a bit too extreme for casual swimmers. Freshman Cameron Lewis was nonetheless excited to experience the surf. Coach Fran Dunphy took the team to visit Pearl Harbor Wednesday where they toured the U.S.S. Arizona memorial. Dunphy stressed the importance of understanding the history there, especially in the world after Sept. 11, 2001. LOOKING AHEAD After some fun in the sun, Penn will be prepping for its first matchup against a non-Division I opponent since 1993. The team will make the hour-long drive to Laie on Oahu's northeastern coast to face D-II BYU-Hawaii. The Seasiders (2-4, 0-2 Pacific West) are coming off back-to-back losses to Chaminade. But the Quakers are not about to overlook a team that played Big East power Louisville tough last season. "They're going to give us everything we want," Dunphy said. "It's going to be a tough game for us." And Dunphy knows better than to look past a lower-tier team, something Princeton did just this week. The Tartans of Carnegie Mellon handed the Tigers their first loss in 27 games against D-III opponents. That is a fate the deeper and more consistent Quakers should be able to avoid Saturday, if they play up to their level. The game against BYUH will tip at 5 p.m. local time (10 p.m. Eastern).Full coverage will follow on dailypennsylvanian.com.

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