PHILADELPHIA — Playing for the first time after an 11-day layoff, Penn turned in its cleanest offensive performance of the season against Rider.
The Quakers never trailed in a 79-66 home win over the Broncs on Friday and put up a blistering 1.27 points per possession, according to KenPom. In a season that has been defined on the offensive end by long outages and poor shot-making, Penn (4-7) finally played at a high level for a full 40 minutes.
There were standouts both familiar and unexpected. Senior forward Nick Spinoso finished with 22 points, one off a career high, while junior wing Ethan Roberts dropped in 20 on 13 shots, including a four-point play that after he drained a straightaway three midway through the first half while absorbing heavy contact from Rider’s Jay Alvarez.
Meanwhile, Rider (4-8) appeared to be asleep at the wheel defensively for stretches. The Broncs repeatedly forgot to cover sophomore wing Niklas Polonowski when he spotted up from distance. Polonowski responded by dropping in 14 points on four made threes to record his first ever double-figure scoring effort against a Division I opponent.
For the first time in a while, it’s all happy Quakeaways:
Coach Steve Donahue’s starting lineup shuffle worked.
Penn’s starting five on Friday evening was a major shock. Freshman forward Bradyn Foster — who heretofore hadn’t played in a game all season – got to start alongside Spinoso as the “four,” while junior wing Michael Zanoni got his first start in a Penn uniform after playing just 37 minutes in the Quakers’ prior five games.
Both young men responded well to the opportunity. Foster only played nine minutes after getting into a little bit of foul trouble, but he generally positioned himself well on the floor and finished with five points on three shots, plus four rebounds.
Meanwhile, Zanoni hit a pair of three-pointers in the first half and finished with a KenPom efficiency rating of 164 points per 100 possessions.
The minutes boost for Foster and Zanoni came at the expense of junior point guard Dylan Williams and freshman forward Michelangelo Oberti, neither of whom played a minute on Friday.
Junior forward Johnnie Walter, another early-season rotational figure, also spent the game on the bench.
Nick Spinoso is playing at his highest level ever.
Spinoso is making his senior year count.
The big man finished Friday with 22 points on 14 shots. He put up a KenPom offensive rating of 163 points per 100 possessions, his second-best showing against a Division 1 opponent in his career.
It was exciting to see Spinoso score in a variety of ways on Friday, from a one-handed hammer dunk and pick-and-roll finishes to a bully-ball backdown of a smaller Rider player that led to an easy layup at the rim.
What was especially heartening was that Spinoso didn’t turn the ball over once despite being the primary initiator of Penn’s offense. His turnover rate, per KenPom, is down to a career low 18.3%, while his 30.3% assist rate is 75th-best in all of Division I.
If Spinoso keeps this up, he’ll likely be able to find a spot to play professionally.
The Quakers are starting to stack solid defensive showings.
Penn held Rider to just 1.06 points per possession, another credible performance after a disheartening start to the year.
Freshman guard AJ Levine again looked like the Quakers’ best individual defender, forcing numerous deflections and grabbing five defensive rebounds. Penn needs to find a way to get Levine performing better on the offensive end of the floor, but his defensive intensity has earned him consistent minutes.
The same could be said of sophomore guard Sam Brown, whose baffling offensive start to the season continued with a scoreless showing on four attempts from the field, plus two missed free throws. Brown hasn’t scored in double figures since Nov. 29 and has now had four games where he has scored three or fewer points.
Brown still found ways to contribute on Friday, which is a credit to his mental toughness. He grabbed six rebounds and added a steal and a block.
The Quakers are starting to right the ship a little bit on defense, but still have a long way to go. KenPom has Penn ranked 321st out of 364 Division I teams in overall defensive efficiency.