Penn basketball falls to La Salle, 74-57

It was the same old story for the Penn basketball team Saturday, as the Quakers’ sixth-straight loss could yet again be blamed on sloppy turnovers.

The Quakers fell to La Salle, 74-57, after coughing the ball up 21 times, including 15 times in the first half alone.

“Some things — especially the unforced turnovers — some things are just unacceptable,” coach Jerome Allen said.

Many of the giveaways were a result of La Salle’s constant full-court press.

“We did not handle it very well,” Allen said. “At times in the game, it wasn’t even a trapping press; it was just aggressive man-to-man, and just our inability to see past our man and be confident and poised and strong with the ball was an issue.”

The Explorers knew their pressure would cause problems for the Quakers.

“They have a young team, and with our pressure, they’ve never seen it before … They can practice it, but they don’t really know what it is until they get out there on the court. And I think it bothered them,” junior guard Tyreek Duren said.

La Salle (10-3, 2-0 Big 5) quickly extended a 10-point lead at the break to 22 midway through the second half. The Explorers scorched the Quakers (2-11, 0-2) from beyond the arc, going 9-for-22 from three-point range.

Penn kept it close through much of the first half before La Salle opened up a 14-point lead with four minutes to go before the break. The Explorers went on a 21-6 La Salle run led by junior Tyrone Garland’s three three-pointers in the final 10 minutes of the first half. He finished with 15 points.

A bright spot for the Quakers was freshman Tony Hicks, who came off the bench to lead Penn with 14 points, though he also had four turnovers.

“Primarily in the first half, [Hicks] was aggressive in his approach, taking it to the basket, shooting pull-ups or trying to make plays” Allen said.

Redshirt senior Garvin Hunt —who played his freshman season for the Quakers and graduated from Penn last year with a degree in architecture — came off the bench for the Explorers. He finished the game with two points and three rebounds.

“I’ve been trying to get ready for this game ever since the summer … It’s been a long three years off, whatever it was,” Hunt said. “It was kind of a whim decision to come back to it, but I’m glad I got the opportunity to play here.”

The Red and Blue are back in action Tuesday against Lafayette at the Palestra in their final game before the Ivy season begins at Princeton on Jan. 12.

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