Penn struggles in the paint

There is no doubt that the Penn men's basketball team lost last night's game in the final two minutes of the half. It just wasn't the second half. With 2:13 remaining before halftime, Lamar Plummer missed the back end of a two-shot foul. Over the next two minutes, the Quakers claimed two offensive rebounds, a loose ball and a jump ball. They capitalized by missing three shots from the field and three from the line, posting exactly one point over two minutes of continuous possession and opportunity. Forget the 20 minutes that followed, filled with miscues from Penn's guards and three-point fireworks from La Salle's Rasual Butler. This game was over the second the Red and Blue mailed it in from the low post. Geoff Owens, 2-for-6 from the field and an identical 2-for-6 from the line, managed eight rebounds but also turned the ball over five times in 35 minutes of playing time. And while coach Fran Dunphy stood by his big man after the game -- "Geoff is our guy. We'll keep going back to him." -- that commitment seemed a partial product of a lack of low-post options. Koko Archibong showed flashes on the offensive boards, pulling down six in the first half alone. But he shot a subpar 3-of-9 over the first 20 minutes, and that was his better half. Ugonna Onyekwe's line was considerably better. His 15 second-half points seemed likely to carry Penn to victory before Copp's and Plummer's miscues. But Onyekwe has yet to step up as the go-to guy for this team, a role Michael Jordan filled so well over the last four years. Then there's the captain, Owens. Sure, he ping-ponged a La Salle shot off the backboard to the crowd's delight. But it was the evening's only rejection for Penn's all-time leader in that category. And it came about because Owens had just turned over the ball at the other end of the court. Frustration was writ large on the face of the man trying to lead the Quakers to their third straight Ivy crown. It registered each time he was whistled for an offensive foul, each time a shot wouldn't drop, each time the ball failed to come his way. And the only thing that Fran Dunphy and the Palestra faithful could do was grit their teeth and watch. The other frontcourt options for Penn are far from optimal -- Josh Sanger is a defensive specialist, and freshman Adam Chubb is still clearly trying to find his legs in Division I basketball. Down low, it was Owens or bust. For the first time all season, Penn outrebounded an opponent, but the Quakers forwards committed 11 turnovers, more than the entire La Salle team. Sure, Penn would have won if the guards had just held the ball over the last two minutes, but the forwards are the ones expected to carry this team, and they did not do so last night. Plummer, Copp and David Klatsky simply cannot be the go-to guys for the Red and Blue. All three are streaky shooters, and only Plummer has demonstrated any ability to create his own offense. This team will go as far as Geoff Owens and Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong take it. Last night, that wasn't far enough.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.