M. Hoops | Seeing Spots

Lafayette lives and dies by the three. For a Penn team that has struggled defending the long ball thus far, that could spell trouble.

The Leopards (3-2) have made ten or more three-pointers in four out of five games this season, and they will get another chance to tonight when the Quakers (2-4) visit.

Four teams have registered 10 or more three-pointers against the Quakers defense this year, including Howard, The Citadel and Drexel, which all shot 50 percent or better from long range. But the Quakers have shown signs of improvement, holding Navy to a 5-for-28 effort from beyond the arc in a 71-67 victory.

"It wasn't just luck that [the Midshipmen] were missing shots," coach Glen Miller said. "We defended well on the perimeter so hopefully we can carry that into the next game."

Miller added that he expects to see Lafayette spread the floor, using dribble hand-offs and ball screens to create open looks. He would not specify whether the Quakers would use more man-to-man sets to prevent open looks, though captain Brian Grandieri assumed that they would.

"I think the Citadel and Navy games have kind of prepared us for the kind of stuff that Lafayette runs," Grandieri said. "We're not going to be shocked, or not know what to do in certain circumstances just because we've seen similar stuff in those games."

Junior guard Andrew Brown leads the Leopards in points per game (17.0) and three-point field goals made (15) but he isn't the only long-range shooter the Quakers have to worry about. Nearly every player who logs major minutes for coach Fran O'Hanlon is capable of knocking down the three.

Long-range shots often produce long rebounds, and if the Quakers can prevent Lafayette's snipers from converting their long-range jumpers, they may provide opportunities to attack in transition. Penn's effective transition offense was one of the main reasons it took control of the second half against Navy.

Tonight's trip to Easton will mark Penn's second road game of the season, and if it is anything like the first - a 89-68 defeat at Loyola in which the Quakers turned the ball over 21 times - Penn will be in for a long night. A few easy buckets would help alleviate the some of the pressure that Lafayette is expected to bring.

"Loyola was the first team to give us pressure," Grandieri said. "We really didn't handle that well and ever since teams have been coming at us and I think we've done a pretty good job of beating their press, attacking and scoring."

A lot of the responsibility getting the ball up the court will fall on freshman Harrison Gaines, who has gotten the start at point guard each of the last four games. Gaines has shown he is capable of taking care of the ball, only turning the ball over 14 times in six appearances so far.

"As a point guard, there's always a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, especially coming out and getting the team in the flow of the offense," Gaines said. "We're playing a lot more smoothly now as time has gone on so I think we'll have a better showing on the road this time."

Beyond overcoming the three-point shooting and full-court pressure, Penn will also have to overcome a gap in experience - Lafayette has five seniors who see significant time. A good performance against a veteran team like Lafayette will go a long way in giving the youthful Quakers confidence down the road, and they'll need it.

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