St. Joe's hit a low Jan. 13 in a 27-point loss at Rhode Island. Since then, each effort has been better than the one before. As Phil Martelli's teams often do, this one is getting better in late January.
"To me, it all started that night in Rhode Island when I saw that look in their faces," Martelli said. "It was the first time that they looked and thought, 'You know what, coach? You gotta fix this . . . Please, we don't want to go through feeling like this, completely, really overwhelmed.' "
Now, they are feeling better.
"We're playing with more confidence, starting to believe in ourselves," Hawks senior Garrett Williamson said. "We got league play now. There are still opportunities in front of us."
Darrin Govens had 17 for the Hawks. Carl Jones had 14 of his 16 in the second half.
The game was played at St. Joe's 70-possession pace. Too many possessions simply will expose Penn's flaws.
"We just hit a dead spot on both ends," Penn interim coach Jerome Allen said. "Against Atlantic 10 teams, that's impossible [to overcome]."
It's all A-10 from here for St. Joe's, all Ivy League for Penn.
Penn (1-13, 0-4) was always playing uphill. St. Joe's can go 10 deep without much falloff. Penn cannot. Over time, that shows.
One thing is certain. Penn won't go 1-13 in the Ivy League. It did not show last night, but the Quakers are getting better. And the competition is about to get worse.
Penn starts its conference season this weekend at Yale and Brown. The next home game is not until Feb. 12. If the Quakers can get one or two on the road, a team that has been searching for confidence might finally get some.
