Brian Grandieri has not built a reputation as a superstar. His knack for being in the right place at the right time has garnered far more attention than his occasional scoring outbursts.
And the junior has been injured with an Achilles problem since last week, substituting a protective boot for shoes and forgoing practice until Monday.
So with Penn struggling to keep up with a talented Illinois-Chicago team last night at the Palestra, Grandieri seemed an unlikely choice to turn things around. But along with a supporting cast of underclassmen, the junior guard proved that these Quakers go much deeper than the three seniors who have dominated thus far.
The result: 19 points off the bench from Grandieri, all but two of which came in the second half, to help Penn erase an early deficit and beat the Flames, 90-78.
"That was the role I played last year, coming off the bench, so it wasn't anything new for me," Grandieri said. "Coach came in at halftime and questioned - not our manhood, but our character. the guys responded."
Senior forward Mark Zoller still led the Quakers with 21 points, though he struggled early on, especially from long distance. Classmate Steve Danley had a dominant game inside, hitting six of eight shots, and Ibrahim Jaaber tallied nine points, nine assists and six steals, becoming the Ivy League's all-time leader in the latter category.
But the three had scored plenty against Villanova and Fordham, only to see each game slip away. This time, Penn's up-and-comers got into the act as well, and its defense came around in due time.
Kevin Egee started in Grandieri's place and promptly hit both of this three-point attempts and a key backdoor layup to help Penn take control of the game.
And when the Flames mounted a late charge, crucial field goals by sophomores Tommy McMahon and Brennan Votel helped seal the game. Both have struggled offensively this year, but McMahon still notched eight points and three assists on some nifty passing inside.
"All those are critical situations where guys that aren't our main guys came up with big plays," Miller said.
UIC certainly came up with its share of big plays. Swingman Othyus Jeffers was a mismatch for Penn all night, working himself open off the dribble and outmuscling the Quakers' guards on the inside. He finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds, eight of them offensive.
With Jeffers scoring virtually at will, Miller went from a man-to-man defense that called for switching to a straight man, and eventually to the aggressive zone that the team has shown periodically this year.
The Flames didn't have an answer for it, and their three-point shooting dropped off dramatically. They finished 6-for-20 from distance.
"We were having a difficult time stopping" them, Penn coach Glen Miller said. "But we got one stop, got two, got three, got four - so we stayed in it. I think it allowed us to get Jeffers under control a little but because he was absolutely killing us."
The Flames built a five-point lead at halftime largely on the strength of second-chance points, finishing with 24 of them to Penn's 10. But the scoring of Jeffers and forward Jovan Stefanov - who also had five offensive boards - couldn't compensate for 14 turnovers. The Quakers coughed up the ball just seven times, compared to 18 assists.
And just as Penn was finding new weapons, UIC was watching its usual ones misfire. The Flames' best three-point shooter on the floor, 5-foot-10 Josh Mayo, hit just one of six from beyond the arc. The 6-11 behemoth Scott VanderMeer had four blocks but picked up four fouls and stayed on the floor for just 25 minutes. The Flames committed 28 fouls overall, sending Penn into the double bonus midway through the second half and helping them score 35 of the game's final 53 points.
But it was Grandieri who shined the most during that stretch, scoring on a tip-in from an inbounds pass, a floater in transition, an open three and a pull-up jumper. He went to the line 10 times, sinking eight.
"We've got to pick each other up. Everyone doesn't have their 'A' game every night," Grandieri said. "That's the way we have to win." With Penn playing two games every weekend come Ivy League season, that may take on an even greater importance.
