Crippled Danley proves to be a big handicap for Penn

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 15 - Stephen Danley, playing through pain throughout the end of the season, was not about to risk spending the last day of his college basketball career on the bench.

So the senior, who could barely move and had been spending more time at the doctor than a pushy drug company salesman, gave it his best shot.

"For him to give of himself what he had to with the doctors and the treatments he had to put himself through to even play this game speaks volumes," Quakers coach Glen Miller said. "I really feel for him. He's a team guy."

After missing nearly a week of practice and going only 40 minutes Wednesday, Danley played six, going 0-for-2 from the floor.

But his mark was felt in his absence, as the Quakers, sans big man, had a hard time dealing with the size of Texas A&M; forwards Antanas Kavaliauskas and Joseph Jones.

What Miller lost in Danley's absence, he tried to make up for using a cocktail of forwards consisting of two parts Justin Reilly, one part Brennan Votel and a splash of Cameron Lewis.

Reilly, a freshman, who had played against or with four of the Aggies during his high school and AAU career in Dallas, recorded a season-high in minutes on the team's biggest stage. He went 3-for-6 from the floor in his 22 minutes of action and played a solid game defensively.

"I just wanted to come in and give a spark," Reilly said. "I just came in and did what I could."

Miller thinks that his background in the Dallas area - where so many of the Aggies shared the same courts -- might have helped his young forward.

"Justin's a tough kid . It didn't surprise me that out of all our younger kids, he wasn't intimidated at all."

When Danley went out just three and a half minutes into the game, it was Votel who stepped in and provided the Quakers with offense in an unexpected form. It was Reilly's three that got Penn on the board five minutes in.

Still, their presence wasn't quite enough, as the Aggies' far-from-identical twins Kavaliauskas and Jones dominated inside. Jones recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Texas A&M; as a team had a 40-27 rebounding edge over the Quakers, who were smaller in nearly every matchup.

And say what you will about Danley's 0-for-9 career showing from the field in NCAA Tournament games, but Penn could have used his presence banging under the basket.

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