EASTON, Pa., Nov. 28 - The last time Penn and Lafayette met, the Quakers hit the century mark. Satiated students went to bed with cheesesteaks in their stomachs.
Not last night, when the return game was played some 70 miles from Abner's. There would be no cheesesteaks, no hundred points, and certainly no win.
The Leopards improved to 4-37 all-time against the Quakers, handing them a 81-69 defeat.
"The cheesesteak thing was tough," said Lafayette forward Matt Betley, one of the many in Leopards white who couldn't seem to miss all night. "It was really nice that we got to return the favor a little bit."
After an uneven first-half, Penn (2-5) opened the second frame with a stretch of crisp play to reclaim the lead.
It all fell apart after that.
Six players scored in double figures for Lafayette (4-2), whose deft long-range shooting during an 18-2 run midway through the second half turned the Red and Blue away for good.
"They have the poise to shoot the ball," Quakers coach Glen Miller said.
"All the sudden you go from a game where it's a tie score, and four threes later you're down 12."
"It's frustrating," said senior Michael Kach, a surprising leading scorer for the Quakers with a career-high 17. "We can't put together an entire game right now."
Lafayette controlled the tempo for much of the first half, forcing 13 Penn turnovers. The Quakers were able to stay in the game, in large part, because of their prowess on the offensive glass, scoring eight second-chance points to crawl within five at the close of the opening frame.
The Quakers emerged from halftime looking consistently sharp on offense for the first time all game, relying on crafty interior shots from Kach and classmate Brian Grandieri, as well as key hoops from freshmen Harrison Gaines and Jack Eggleston, to seize a 50-49 lead with 12 minutes to play.
But the Leopards quickly recovered, pouring in three three-pointers in less than minute as part of a spurt that earned Lafayette an insurmountable 15-point lead with eight minutes to play.
"It was like two different games," Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon said. "The first half was very tight, very physical. Both teams were grinding it out. Then the game kind of opened up, and we started playing much looser in the second half."
"They kinda had us on the run from the defensive standpoint all night," Miller said. "They ran it really hard, which taxed us defensively."
As it did in its last two games, the young Penn squad showed flashes of promise scattered amidst its inconsistent play. Miller and the senior leaders know they have a long way to go.
"They have guys who can pass the ball, shoot the ball, dribble the ball, and that's experience," Miller said. "We're far from that level right now. We're desperately trying to get there."
"Those guys run the hell out of their offense," Grandieri said. "Looking at them, they probably do exactly what we want to do."
The Quakers had three players in double figures, led by Kach's 17, which included a perfect 8-for-8 mark from the foul line. Eggleston tallied 13 points and seven boards for the Red and Blue. By the end of the night, that didn't seem to matter much.
