Penn started out the first half a step slow in its search for its first win of the season while hosting Lafayette, trailing 45-30 at halftime – a hole the Quakers wouldn’t be able to climb out of even after cutting the Leopards’ lead to 62-60 halfway through the second half.
“We didn’t trust the system,” coach Jerome Allen said. “We didn’t know the objective of what we were trying to run and all our actions weren’t credible threats. Give Lafayette some credit but there was a direct function of our focus and attention to detail.”
The Quakers allowed Lafayette let loose from beyond the arc as the Leopards canned six of 10 attempts from deep in the first half.
But this loss still comes with hope for the Red and Blue. Offensive stalwart Tony Hicks finished the game with a double-double, scoring 14 points and dishing out a Quakers single-game record-tying 13 assists. Hicks also snatched four rebounds and four steals in 38 minutes of play.
“It’s just something that developed,” Hicks said, “I had a lot of drop-offs, they were kind of soft in the paint, my teammates were open and they finished.”
On the receiving end of Hicks’s career night was another career night by freshman forward Mike Auger. The rookie racked up 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting to lead the team while pulling down nine rebounds in just 14 minutes of play.
“He was phenomenal, he went after every offensive rebound.” Allen said, “He brought us alive in the second half with his constant relentlessness whether it be at the top of the press or it was going after every live ball. That’s the type of team we have to be. That has to be our identity, to leave it on the floor.”
Penn outrebounded its opponents for the second time this season, 34-26.
While tonight was a disappointing loss for the Quakers, the future looks bright as Auger, the sparkplug for a Penn offense that has been looking for a playmaking mate for Tony Hicks, looked phenomenal for the Red and Blue. Moving forward, look for the rookie to increase his role within the offense. If Auger can keep this performance up, Penn will be harder to stop.
Best game of the season for the Quakers.
Hicks really had a great night. Unfortunately, he ran out of energy at the end of game. Similar thing happened last weekend against Delaware State. It would be good if one of the other guards could give him a little assistance so he is sharp by the end of the game.
Auger was fantastic, as well. After watching the game, it seems surpising that he was only in for 14 minutes. Tremendous energy on offense and defense. When he came out with a mild injury with Penn down 2 late in the 2nd half, the team did not have the same intensity.
DNH and Louis had decent nights. It was good to see Dylan Jones in the game, giving the team a little more front court depth.
It’s looking like Auger and Woods could be moving into the starting group.
I haven’t listened to any tape of the press conference, but it is really frustrating to hear the coach continuing to talk about the team not following “the system”. What is this amazing system? If it is so good, why can the players not follow it? If the cannot do that, year in and year out, then that would speak to the coach’s effectiveness.
Oh well, I’ll concentrate on the fact that the team gave a great effort tonight and gave the fans a glimmer of hope.