The best the Quakers could hope for was probably a moral victory. Even that was well out of reach.
Saint Joseph's dominating 82-42 victory over Penn on Saturday raises the prospect of a winless Big 5 season, which would be Penn's first since 2000-01. The Quakers visit Temple on Wednesday for their final non-conference game. Time to improve before they hit paydirt - against Harvard on February 1 - is dwindling, and it would not be unreasonable to view this loss as a step backwards.
"We can't think that we're going to have success in the Ivy League if we can't play better basketball," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "Even in a losing cause."
Penn was faced with that reality quickly when St. Joe's raced out to a 21-3 lead. Miller tried some fixes, giving freshman Danny Monckton meaningful minutes for the first time and keeping Tyler Bernardini mostly on the bench, but the game never tightened up.
The veteran Hawks frontcourt of Pat Calathes, Rob Ferguson and Nivins combined to shoot 18-for-29 from the field; they alone outscored the Quakers, 45 to 42. St. Joe's shot twice as well as Penn from the field, took a 38-14 lead into the locker room at halftime and got a field goal from all 12 men who played.
Both sides were absent a top option at point guard (for Penn, Harrison Gaines; for St. Joe's, Tasheed Carr), but it was the Hawks who won the battle of the backups. Kevin Egee led Penn in minutes (33) and points (9) but was unable to find many baskets for his teammates. Garrett Williamson, normally the sixth man, found open St. Joe's shooters again and again, notching nine assists against zero turnovers.
On defense, St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli told his players to give ground in order to keep the Quakers in front of them. Penn attempted few two-point shots; a staggering 27 of its 59 shots came from three-point distance, and only five of those three-pointers fell.
St. Joe's, in contrast, did damage from all over the floor. Calathes hit three three-pointers in the first half, and Nivins made seven of eight shots after halftime to keep Penn from threatening.
"Our guys, they weren't believers after [the first half], and that hurt us" Miller said. "Our self esteem, our confidence was just shot down."
"Somehow, we've got to get better. It's my job to find a way to help this basketball team improve."
When told that Hawks coach Phil Martelli had complemented the Quakers' rebounding, Miller smiled.
"[Martelli] is being very kind," he said. "I appreciate any positives he can find in our play tonight."
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