ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Penn had not allowed 99 points in almost seven years until Villanova lit up the Quakers last Saturday.
Last night against Navy, Penn proved that the Wildcats were the exception. The Quakers held a team that had been averaging 71.2 points per game and had been shooting very well from behind the arc to just 58 points. Penn also forced the Midshipmen to commit a season-high 22 turnovers en route to a 79-58 win.
The number tied Penn's season high, and the Quakers' 15 steals represented their best total and the most given up by Navy (7-3) so far.
Penn (5-3) was led defensively, as it often is, by senior guard Ibrahim Jaaber. He had a season- and team-best seven steals last night, helping the Quakers to 34 points off turnovers.
"We were just more aggressive on defense today," Jaaber said. "I think everybody overall played a lot more aggressive and played with their hands."
Playing another good three-point shooting team after Villanova gave the Quakers a chance to work out what they did wrong and put it to use immediately.
"We practiced it, and tried to apply it to the game," Jaaber said.
Penn succeeded in its defensive approach mostly due to its aggression, as well as switching and communication - something it has improved significantly on as the season has progressed.
On no possession was Penn's defensive effort more evident than the one that began with 14:15 left to play.
After Navy went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 15, Navy freshman Trey Stanton stole a pass from junior Michael Kach.
On the ensuing trip down the court, Navy missed a three but pulled down the rebound. The ball was tipped out of bounds and, after the possession went to the Middies, they blocked a shot, got that rebound and then finally turned it over, 56 seconds later. Despite the repeated looks, the Midshipmen did not have a chance at the basket and could not score.
Kach said he was "impressed" by Penn's talking and defensive rotation, and was exuberant when speaking about it afterwards. Part of this, however, may have been because Kach saw his first extensive action of the season last night.
But despite the final score and the defensive effort by Penn, both coaches - the Quakers' Glen Miller and Navy's Billy Lange - felt the action was not as obvious as it seemed.
Navy came into the game averaging 10-for-25 on threes per game, and 23-of-50 from the field.
Last night, Navy was 10-for-25 from three-point range and was 22-of-51 from the field, essentially right on the average.
Miller said was disappointed by a few stretches of play where Penn allowed open threes and dribble penetration that led to more open looks from the outside, and did not feel that the Quakers had a consistent defensive effort.
Lange said that while Penn played hard and did some good things defensively, he felt that his team missing a number of open shots was an important factor.
"I saw us getting to the rim, I saw us getting wide open
layups, I saw us get some wide-open threes, I saw us driving to the paint," Lange said.
Penn deserves the credit for playing disciplined and not letting the Midshipmen attack the basket as well as they would have liked, thereby controlling the action for much of the game.
The Quakers have now held three opponents to less than 60 points, and while Penn is getting attention for scoring more points this year, its defense has showed up at all the right times early in the season.
