Moyse | Penn looks for answers on 'O'

ALBANY, N.Y., Nov. 29 -

When Penn's Zack Rosen and Jack Eggleston hoisted up a combined eight shots in the final five minutes of Saturday's 73-63 loss at Albany, it wasn't a case of them being selfish or padding their stats.

They looked around and saw nobody willing or able to step up. Brennan Votel, Kevin Egee, Tyler Bernardini and Harrison Gaines were all non-factors for the preceding 35 minutes.

On the other hand, Eggleston and Rosen had each logged 33-plus minutes and combined for 8-for-13 shooting from the floor. So forgive them for the late-game tunnel vision.

They just tried to help their team by doing what they'd been doing all night - only they ran out of gas and didn't get any help.

"Jack's effort is always good," Penn coach Glen Miller said after the loss.

"He gave it everything he could. We desperately need to get some help in the frontcourt and establish a presence in the low post on both offense and defense."

Whether in the post or on the perimeter, that's been the Quakers' problem all season: Getting help for their hot scorers. It seems as if Penn is never firing on all cylinders. We can usually count on Bernardini to at least put up points - but as for who else will step up, it's anyone's guess.

Against Drexel, Votel and Egee led the Red and Blue. In the win over Monmouth, it was those two, plus Remy Cofield. The Penn State game saw strong showings from Eggleston and Gaines, and then on Saturday, it was Eggleston and Rosen.

Notice a pattern here? Me neither.

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It's not necessarily a bad thing that the Quakers have different contributors step up on different nights. Clearly, it makes it harder for opponents to plan ahead and make in-game adjustments with so many players capable of putting up double figures.

The problem lies in the fact that the Quakers have no consistent post presence and no consistent second option to take the load off Bernardini.

The former is essential to a motion offense like Miller's and with Rosen and Gaines handling the ball, it'd be an added bonus to be able to secure defensive rebounds and get fast breaks started.

The latter is self-explanatory - you can't expect a sophomore to shoulder the load every night.

There is hope on the immediate horizon. Much of the lack of depth in Penn's frontcourt can be blamed on the fact that it's been decimated by injuries to Andreas Schreiber, Mike Howlett and Justin Reilly.

But at the same time, Howlett is a freshman with no track record and Schreiber and Reilly have had the same inconsistent ups and downs as everyone else.

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It must have been frustrating for Rosen to jaw with Great Danes guard Anthony Raffa. The two freshmen from New Jersey had their share of battles playing in high school and continued the friendly rivalry on Saturday night.

But Rosen had to have gritted his teeth while watching Raffa pour in 22 points thanks to help from teammates Tim Ambrose, Will Harris and Brian Connelly, all of whom scored in double figures on 50-plus percent shooting.

Moreover, Miller - whose team has been able to cite its "inexperience" as its limiting factor - couldn't have missed the fact that the two top scorers for Albany, like Penn, were a freshman and sophomore.

Watching the Danes play was like looking into a funhouse mirror of what the Quakers could be if they can find some consistency - scary.

Brandon Moyse is a junior Mathematics major from Montreal and is Senior Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is bmoyse@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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