They're not done yet

By Josh Hirsch

Senior Staff Writer

jjhirsch@sas.upenn.edu

It's almost over.

Penn's gauntlet of three straight Big 5 games in 10 days is two-thirds complete, with the Quakers (11-6, 2-1 Big 5) grabbing two wins by only three total points.

The final stage for Penn is at the Palestra tomorrow night against Saint Joseph's (11-8, 1-0).

After nail-biting wins over La Salle and Temple, Penn may well be playing the best team of the three in a much-improved Hawks squad.

Unlike the two teams that the Quakers just beat, St. Joes' strength lies in its frontcourt - albeit a young one.

Aside from junior Pat Calathes, who is a 6-foot-10, almost-"point"-forward, the Hawks start two sophomores up front in Ahmad Nivins and Rob Ferguson.

Nivins is one of the best post-up men in the Atlantic 10, and Ferguson had a game-high 18 points as well as a game-tying three-pointer late in the Hawks' 47-44 comeback win at Penn last year.

"He's a very skilled player," senior forward Steve Danley said of Ferguson. "You can't let a guy like that get on a roll."

It was that roll that Ferguson got on last year that gave St. Joe's the final points they needed.

In the backcourt, the Hawks start a pair of freshmen, Jawan Carter and Garrett Williamson, neither of which are double-digit scorers.

That must be a welcome relief to the Quakers, who have allowed guards Darnell Harris of La Salle and Dionte Christmas of Temple to score 32 and 34 points in the last two games, respectively.

But the Hawks rely on their frontcourt for their offense, with Calathes, Ferguson and Nivins averaging a combined 43 points per game. Martelli said he hopes he can get 25 out of his backcourt, which would put the Hawks at the 68 points they are averaging for the season.

St. Joe's started off slowly at 6-5, including a thrashing at the hands of Drexel the last time the Hawks were at the Palestra. Then they won four in a row, and looked like they would be a team to contend in the A-10.

But three close losses - Rhode Island by five, at Fordham by one in overtime and at George Washington - in the last four games have threatened to derail their cause.

Martelli, for one, is not sure how his team will react to this latest adversity until it gets some more practice time before tomorrow's game. However, he said, because his team is so young, they do not dwell on losses.

"I think they look forward to the next competition as opposed to the last competition," he said.

The Quakers still have an opportunity to win a share of the Big 5 title, something not lost on Penn coach Glen Miller, who has been downplaying the Big 5 somewhat in his first season.

He is well aware that if the Quakers beat the Hawks and St. Joe's then beats Villanova on Feb. 6, Penn and 'Nova will be deadlocked at 3-1.

For the Penn seniors, coming away with a winning record in the Big 5 for the first time in their careers is motivation enough.

"That game means a lot to me personally," Danley said.

It's not just the seniors, though. Junior guard Brian Grandieri, who grew up near Philadelphia, is not worried about Penn's stretch of hard-fought games.

"It's the Big 5," Grandieri said. "That's all you have to say."

Danley, who has struggled lately, scoring only two points on no field goals in each of the last two games, was, along with Justin Reilly, the first to the gym yesterday to try to get his game straightened out. But he is not too concerned yet.

"As long as we're playing well, I'm not too worried," he said.

The Quakers have won three straight games that in previous years they might not have won. And they feel that confidence, as Miller pointed out that Penn did not panic when it was down by 19 against Temple.

"I think these type of things build on each other," Danley said.

Grandieri said that he doesn't necessarily need another nailbiter, but he thinks that the Quakers are set if it should happen.

"We don't want a close game, but I think if it happens we will be better prepared," he said.

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