Bernstein | Quakers show some tough love

NEW HAVEN, Conn.

Glen Miller isn't one to mince words. The Penn coach's thoughts usually go from zero-to-earful faster than a Ferrari on the Autobahn.

So when he called out his team for a lack of toughness a week ago in an embarrassing loss to Columbia, it wasn't out of left field. By now, the Quakers are well aware of how to get out of the doghouse. On Saturday night, they officially poked their heads out.

Penn was in unfamiliar territory this weekend, facing a do-or-die situation just three weeks into the Ivy campaign. But the Red and Blue responded, turning in a hard-nosed effort to hold off Yale.

Overall, Miller's squad played with more toughness this weekend than they have at any point this season.

It all came to a head during the Yale game's final possessions, where a few loose balls likely determined the outcome.

Tyler Bernardini snatched an offensive rebound on a missed free throw with a minute to go. Jack Eggleston channeled his inner-volleyball player and smacked a Bernardini miss out to the perimeter with 21.3 seconds left. Then, Zack Rosen held off Yale's Porter Braswell on a loose ball on the Bulldogs' end of the court, effectively icing the game.

The shots weren't always falling, but the Quakers scrapped their way to a 68-63 win, a satisfying follow-up to a 21-point victory over Brown a night earlier.

"I thought our kids were tough and they played hard, but I just thought Penn was a little tougher," Yale coach James Jones said. "That shows up when . you don't block out and get a late rebound when you need one."

Miller didn't exactly break out the candy hearts for his guys on Valentine's Day for their performance. But he didn't hesitate to show some love for his team's defensive effort this weekend, either.

The Quakers held both Brown and Yale to under 40 percent shooting, disrupting both attacks with a sharp full-court press.

"I thought we played very hard both nights and we defended, for the most part, both nights," Miller said. "That's a good sign."

But Penn's defense was just part of the story. The Quakers' 11 second-chance points - while overshadowed by Yale's 18 offensive rebounds - are not to be overlooked. And the individual efforts were more consistent than either of the two previous Ivy weekends.

Guard Harrison Gaines attacked the basket with little hesitation, finishing strong despite getting his 6-foot, 170-pound frame knocked around a little bit in the paint. The sophomore didn't shy away from the contact, however, and he led Penn in scoring Saturday with 19 points.

Gaines took his coach's challenge to heart (no V-Day pun intended).

"I feel like we did [respond]. We didn't play tough last week," he said. "Columbia kind of punked us. We came out against Cornell, had a good start and then faltered off. So we just had to put everything together for these two games."

Despite the sweep, Penn is in a position they'd rather not be in - just .500 in league play and two games back of first place with nearly half of the Ivy season gone.

Still, Miller and the Quakers have to be happy that the toughness is back.

David Bernstein is a senior Economics major from Washington, D.C. His e-mail address is bernstein@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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