M. Hoops | Still can't get over the hump

One of two things could have cemented Penn's final resting place on the bottom of the Big 5 food chain: the 17 first-half points for Penn, or the nine-minute scoreless streak.

The last twenty minutes, however, did show that it's still territory worth fighting for.

Despite Penn's tremendous 53-point showing in the second half, La Salle avoided striking out against Big 5 opponents by edging the Quakers, 79-70. It marks the first time that the Explorers (10-7, 1-2 Big 5) have beaten Penn in back-to-back seasons since 1999 - coincidentally, the last time that the Quakers lost at La Salle's Tom Gola Arena.

Scoring leader Rodney Green didn't even have to break a sweat in the first half to put Penn (4-9, 0-3) in a 14-point halftime hole, reserving 20 of his career-high 26 points for the second frame. The Explorers, while lacking definite rhythm in transition, used their size and athleticism to pour in points from the paint and keep a steady double-digit lead for most of the game, as well as holding Penn to a 25.8 field goal percentage in the first half.

The Red and Blue seemed within a rally's reach when sophomore Tyler Bernardini gave the rest of his team a reason to step up the intensity. After a painfully long streak of 16 unanswered points, the guard hit a jumper with four minutes left in the first half, following up with two neat lay-ups to ensure that the Quakers didn't stay in single digits before heading to the locker room. He also opened up the second half with back-to-back threes in the first two minutes of play, and finished with a team-high 23 points.

The remainder of the Quakers seemed intent on following their young leader, but didn't quite know how - a reminder of how the team can ebb and flow with Bernardini's performance.

Freshman guard Zack Rosen was the only other player to really contribute to the revival, going 4-for-8 on the night, with 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds. His assertiveness in driving the lane urged fellow guard Harrison Gaines to follow suit, and he in turn gave Penn some momentum on the breakaway.

"To come back and score 53 points is one thing," Penn coach Glen Miller said after the game. "We just gotta be able to start and finish games. We still have to be able to establish ourselves down low."

The seasoned vets provided little support, with senior Brennan Votel hitting only two field goals on eight attempts and Cam Lewis missing three wide-open layups. Defensively, neither provided much cushioning for Bernardini or Rosen, as the Quakers were consistently beaten underneath.

"It's more disappointing than a loss, giving up a lot of easy buckets," Bernardini said, brushing off questions about regaining his stroke. "I feel like I was thinking more about that than me making shots."

Miller's frustration with his team's late-blooming offense wasn't confined to the locker room. Thirteen minutes into the second half, the refs called the Penn coach for his first technical of the season, after a questionable intentional foul call on Gaines. At the time, Penn had cut the Explorers' lead down to 12 points with 6:55 remaining.

"I didn't think there was any play on the ball," Miller said. "I thought there was an inconsistency."

A gym-shattering dunk by Green effectively sealed Penn's fate with three minutes to go in the second half, though Bernardini sunk a three with 18 seconds left to lessen the blow.

La Salle coach John Giannini, while "not pleased" with his team's overall performance, acknowledged that his team had to be "infinitely better defensively" in order to establish a meaningful presence in the Atlantic 10.

As for Penn?

"I know exactly what they're going through," he said, in regard to Miller's young, inexperienced team. "They're going to get better year by year, and they will do it very quickly."

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