M. Hoops | Role players step up in win over Hawks

With Penn struggling to find an offensive rhythm early in the first half on Saturday against Monmouth, Tyler Bernardini put the team on his back, scoring all but two of the Quakers' first 14 points.

But a young and weaker Monmouth squad crept back anyway, refusing to be silenced by a single player. The Quakers would ultimately need a true team effort to run away with a game that was theirs for the taking.

And that's exactly what Penn coach Glen Miller got.

When the dust had settled after a dominant 57-point second half, Penn had nine different players logging at least 10 quality minutes - a group that was hardly limited to the usual suspects.

Senior Kevin Egee made the most of his first start of the season, hitting pivotal three-pointers on consecutive possessions early on in the second half to put the game essentially out of reach for the Hawks.

The sparingly used Conor Turley turned in 18 strong minutes for Penn, in which he pulled down eight rebounds - which led the Quakers - and had two steals, a block, three assists and no turnovers.

Remy Cofield, usually relegated to garbage minutes as well, made huge contributions on both ends of the court and dazzled the small Palestra crowd with his athleticism.

Whether it was a pretty tip-in off a Harrison Gaines miss, one of his three steals, a trey or a strong baseline drive for a lay-up, Cofield was all over.

Even Tommy McMahon, finding himself on the court with four teammates with whom he had rarely, if ever played, looked pretty comfortable in his return from a hip injury, staying within the offense and knocking down a mid-range jumper with a hand in his face.

A serviceable bench made it easy for Miller to rotate players in and out, depending on the flow of the game.

"Outside of certain guys, it's situational," Miller said. "All of our guys come to practice and want to work hard and have the opportunity, so we're going to keep on giving it to them."

As everyone started to get involved in the second half, Penn's offensive success became contagious. Zack Rosen was finally able to get the monkey off his back and record his first collegiate field goal - a three-pointer from the corner - which he followed up on during his next trip down the court with a lay-up on a strong take to the basket.

The depth of the rotation against Monmouth facilitated better ball movement, preventing Bernardini from having to force shots and giving him the opportunity to distribute.

"It's gonna fall for each and every person," Bernardini said. "Personally, if I'm open I'm gonna shoot it, and if not I'm going to pass to people who are open, and they're gonna knock it down."

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