Eggleston's Take: No winners last night

We tend to think of basketball as a zero sum game. One team wins and the other loses. Last night, that was not the case. Yes, the Quakers scored more points than the Jaspers, Zack Rosen was his usual self, and we saw some promising flashes from Marin Kukoc, but this contest yielded no winners.

From the start of the game it was obvious that the coaching staff was not happy. Tyler Bernardini and Fran Dougherty found themselves seated when the game began, signaling a desire to shake things up after the recent skid. The game ended with the image of Coach Allen a few feet out on the court, yelling at the players and gesturing at them to pick up loose balls. Despite coming out on top, Penn really did nothing the whole evening that would change their coach's attitude for the better.

In the first half, the Quakers were badly exposed on the glass by a Manhattan team that could hardly be considered physically imposing. Getting out rebounded by eleven by the Jaspers is not a good sign of things to come this season. Coach Allen tacitly acknowledged the lack of production from the interior players with a lineup down the stretch that consisted of Rosen, Cartwright, Bernardini, Kukoc, and Belcore. It will be interesting to watch if and how this unit is used in the coming games. These five could be a tough group to match up with offensively but could be exposed just as easily defensively.

I highly doubt you will see any smiles from Coach Allen or Zack Rosen in the post game press conference or at practice on Thursday. All the Quakers know tonight was a missed opportunity to improve before a Big 5 showdown. Sometimes even a win can feel like a loss.