M. Hoops rebounds nicely, moves to 4-1 Ivy

Granted it was against a 7-12, 2-4 Ivy Dartmouth team without its best player at the Palestra, Penn looked great.

The Quakers destroyed a sloppy Dartmouth team with pressure defense and a solid inside game for the 73-53 win. It was Penn's first home Ivy game this season, and they looked energized and much more comfortable than they were in John J. Lee Amphitheater last weekend.

"That Saturday night and that Sunday we're real tough, but it happens and you have to put it behind you," senior co-captain Mark Zoller said.

After the lackluster performance defensively against Yale, Penn coach Glen Miller started Darren Smith in the place of Tommy McMahon, and the combination of that with playing in front of a 4,600-plus crowd and the motivation of rebounding from a loss sparked some solid defense throughout.

Penn forced 21 Dartmouth turnovers, some as a result of good defense and others just because of terrible passes. Penn played a little bit of a zone press and trapped in the corners a few times, and it all disrupted the Dartmouth offense enough to make it a blowout.

The Big Green only surpassed the half-century mark thanks to 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points. But the careless passing and 35-percent shooting did the Big Green in, as still have yet to win at the Palestra this millennium.

Mark Zoller scored 19 points on only nine attempts to lead Penn, as three other players scored in double figures. Stephen Danley had a great game, scoring 15 along with nine rebounds, two assist and two blocks.

Just as Dartmouth's best guard Leon Pattman was injured (out with a viral infection), Penn's Ibrahim Jaaber was hurt a finger on his left hand, but it didn't seem to slow him down. The senior guard finished with 12 points, six assists and five steals.

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