Last night at the Palestra, Penn's offense generated open looks at the basket time and time again. But the Quakers' shots just wouldn't drop, especially when they needed them most.
Even at the end of the game, with Big 5 foe La Salle up 61-58, sophomore forward Justin Reilly found himself unguarded behind the three-point line, with one last chance to even the score. His attempt clanked off the iron and into the hands of Yves Mekongo Mbala with 4.9 seconds left. After being fouled immediately, he went on to make the first of two free throws and seal the win for the Explorers, 62-58.
The contest between the struggling Big 5 squads was close from start to finish, with neither team taking a double-digit lead at any point throughout the game. And while La Salle (6-9) got its fair share of scoring opportunities as well, it shot only 31 percent from the field, compared to 39 percent for the Quakers (5-10).
"We played very hard, but I don't think we played particularly well," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "I'm sure Penn feels the same way."
In the end, it was free-throw shooting that gave the Explorers the edge they needed. With successful dribble penetration in the second half, La Salle got to the charity stripe 22 times, converting 17 of the attempts. The team was 25 for 30 for the game.
Penn played well enough in the opening stanza to head into halftime with a five-point lead. Freshman swingman Tyler Bernardini continued his spirited play, netting 13 of his 20 points in the first half thanks to good perimeter shooting and dribble drives. The Quakers also worked the ball inside effectively for most of the game, scoring 30 points in the paint - two more than La Salle.
In the beginning of the second half, however, La Salle went to a full-court press and forced several turnovers, keying an 11-0 run to take a lead that they would never relinquish. Guard Rodney Green added four of his team-high 17 points during the run, including an emphatic dunk off of a steal to help ignite the offense.
"We had too many turnovers in the second half," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "You've got to be efficient on both ends of the floor."
Green and reserve forward Kimmani Barrett, who finished with 15 points, drove the lane with relative ease in the second half, stretching out the floor and creating high-percentage shots for La Salle. Still, Penn managed to hold guard Darnell Harris - La Salle's best scorer - to only four points on 1 of 10 shooting.
"I thought most of our problem was . overreacting to the penetration," Miller said. "They shot 31 percent from the field; we did some good things defensively, but just too much penetration in the second half."
Penn's senior guard Brian Grandieri finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, but he and his teammates missed a good number of shots and layups from close range.
"We're definitely getting better; a lot more guys are getting involved and doing things," he said. "But I probably missed three layups underneath, and the team probably missed eight or ten. That's 16 points, and we lost by four, so you do the math."
