Todres | Quakers channel Jekyll and Hyde

In Penn's penultimate tuneup for conference play, two different teams showed up for the Red and Blue.

The first team was the one Penn fans have grown all too familiar with this season. You know it well.

It's the squad on which no player in particular wants to run anything resembling a play on offense. It's the team that favors the perimeter shot, at all costs, even after going nearly eight minutes without a point, as was the case last night against La Salle.

On this team, there is no leader - only a never-ending rotation of players that look like they have never competed together before, regardless of skill level or experience.

That scoring drought, during which the Explorers went on possibly the quietest 16-0 run I've ever witnessed, was punctuated by sloppy passing and a stubborn unwillingness to attack the basket or protect the ball. There were no exceptions. Penn did not attempt a single free throw in the first half.

By the time Rob Belcore turned the ball over at the 10-minute mark - attempting to feed another perimeter shot after having started to penetrate into the lane - Glen Miller seemed stumped. Belcore had just been subbed in a few minutes earlier for Tyler Bernardini, who had missed four deep jumpers in a row.

And even before that, forward Brennan Votel had been yanked in favor of Cam Lewis after bricking several perimeter attempts early. Lewis had plenty of opportunities in the paint, but refused to go up strong, missing layup after layup.

When freshman Mike Howlett checked in for Lewis, he turned the ball over shortly after Belcore did, and Justin Reilly took his turn through the revolving door.

But in the second half, a different team came to play. This is a team characterized by relentless energy and a desire to compete.

Last night, this second team didn't settle for perimeter shots after Bernardini broke out of his slump and nailed back-to-back threes. Instead, the offense ran sharp cuts and attacked the basket.

Kevin Egee didn't wait around on the perimeter for a jumpshot - immediately upon entering the game with 13 minutes to go, he moved crisply without the ball and received a pretty feed from Jack Eggleston, finishing with a powerful layup.

A few plays later, Belcore penetrated the lane again but this time went straight to the hole, drawing a foul and knocking down both of his free throws. Then the offense fed the ball down low to Howlett, who got fouled in the paint and hit his free throws as well. On the next possession, Bernardini was there to clean up Howlett's short-range miss and go to the charity stripe yet again.

This team played with a fire and a passion that filtered its way all the way down the bench. When the referee failed to call what was a blatant intentional foul by Ruben Guillandeaux - shortly after signaling Howlett for an identical play a few minutes earlier - Miller's outburst was really an appropriate and encouraging response. Miller had his players' backs, and his players responded in kind, quickly trimming a 13-point deficit to seven in only a minute.

"It was my first technical of the year," he said. "Maybe, I don't know, if we play better, I should get a few more going forward."

As the Quakers head into their final non-conference game, they need to figure out a way to put that second team on the floor for an entire 40 minutes. Only an extremely high energy and willingness to attack on offense - instead of waiting for things to happen - will allow Penn to overcome its problems of youth and inexperience.

Scoring 53 points in a half against a stronger, more athletic and more experienced Big 5 team should be a confidence boost.

Andrew Todres is a senior Political Science and History double major from New York. His email address is todres@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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