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The calm before the storm

By , , and 02/04/11 6:45pm

While the players attempted to maintain their usual professional manner for the whole 40 minutes Friday, unmistakable smiles from both junior guard Rob Belcore and freshman guard Dau Jok while on the floor signaled one thing: the buzz is back in basketball at the Palestra.

In a 78-47 drubbing of Dartmouth Friday night, Penn not only showcased what it is capable of when firing on all cylinders, but it did so with a certain excitement and intensity that has not been seen by Quakers’ faithful in several years.

“This is how it was supposed to be,” senior Tyler Bernardini said in a rather animated press conference. “We come in and we take care of business.”

The Quakers (9-9, 3-1) shot an astounding 62.8 percent from the field and were led by the red-hot Bernardini who — despite fighting flu-like symptoms all week — scored a game-high 21 points on a very efficient shooting night, going 7-for-10 from the field and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.

With a comfortable lead hovering around 30 points, coach Jerome Allen eventually pulled his starters in the second half and let bench players young and old close out the game. After a quiet first period, Jack Eggleston finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, his fifth double-double this season.

However, it wasn’t just the offense that was clicking for Penn.

From the outset, Penn applied pressure and continually forced Dartmouth (5-15, 1-5) into taking low-percentage shots with the shot clock winding down. As a result, the Big Green shot 34 percent for the night.

“We just got beat in every aspect of the game,” said Dartmouth coach Paul Cormier. “Penn is one of the premier teams in the league and played that way.”

Despite playing a game that was almost as flawless as any basketball team could play, Allen didn’t concede anything afterward and gave the team’s performance a “C.”

“I was pleased with our defensive effort, but we’re not satisfied,” Allen said. “The only thing we’ve done is win our third game in the league.”

While junior Zack Rosen expressed similar thoughts, simply saying, “a win is a win,” it was clear that the Quakers’ four-game winning streak — including their first three-game Ivy League winning streak since 2007 — had created electricity in the locker room and around campus.

“This is the exciting part because in the next two games, we control where our season goes,” Rosen said.

Then, with a certain look of tranquility and relief, Rosen added, “This is it, finally.”