BOSTON, Feb. 23 - Coming into its game against Penn, Harvard was on a four-game losing streak, including losses to Princeton and Brown. So for Penn coach Glen Miller, a comfortable 83-67 win on the road wasn't enough.
"Not boxing out, turning our heads, careless turnovers, lack of execution," the coach said, listing his qualms with the Quakers' performance. "With five games left in the season, we needed to come out and be a lot more disciplined with the execution than I saw tonight."
But despite Miller's dissatisfaction, the result never seemed to be in doubt. Penn jumped out to a 7-0 lead before going ahead by as many as 23. Harvard mounted a solid second-half run, but couldn't bring the lead back to single digits.
The Crimson were simply run ragged by a superior team. The Quakers outscored Harvard 20-7 on the fast break, and shot an impressive 12-23 from beyond the arc.
"The tempo got too fast too quickly to start the game and to start the second half," Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. "It was very difficult to get Penn in front of us . laterally, baseline, or up-and-down."
Ibrahim Jaaber and Mark Zoller had a lot to do with that, as the two seniors contributed a combined 40 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
And when Zoller and Jaaber were shut down, the supporting cast played a crucial role. More often than not, guards Darren Smith, a freshman, and junior Michael Kach stepped up.
Kach poured in 14 points in 15 minutes. Smith, with 17, showed why he has curried his coach's favor and earned a spot in the starting lineup.
"I was feeling it in shootaround [on Friday at] about 11 o'clock," Smith said of his career-high night which featured a 5-of-8 clip from deep. "My teammates were able to create for me and get me open, and I took what they gave me."
But while the Quakers seemed to have little trouble on the offensive end, shooting at a 56-percent clip from the floor, their recurring weaknesses were again exposed. Penn corralled 22 defensive rebounds while allowing Harvard to grab 11 on the offensive glass.
On the foul line, the worst foul-shooting team in the league shot a pathetic 3-for-11, while Harvard breezed to a 21-for-23 night.
Still, even an inconsistent effort was enough to hold off the late charge from the beleaguered Crimson. A 17-6 run midway through the second half helped Harvard pull within 12, but consecutive baskets from Jaaber, Zoller and Smith put to rest any chances of a tight game down the stretch.
Miller was left unimpressed, though.
"If you're not making good decisions and you're not playing a tight basketball game, maybe that goes from 12 to eight to seven, and now you're in a tough spot on the road," he said.
To Miller's dismay, his observation would prove prophetic on Saturday.
