Penn snaps skid, beats Manhattan

Jerome Allen wanted to shake things up to help Penn snap a three-game losing streak.

So the Quakers coach, who hadn't seen the effort he demanded of late, benched two starters, Tyler Bernardini and Fran Dougherty, against Manhattan at the start of Tuesday night's game at the Palestra.

Bernardini responded in a big way, hitting a clutch three-pointer with 1 minute, 12 seconds remaining to help send Penn to a 75-72 victory over the Jaspers.

"Fortunately I got open, I knocked it down, and we won," Bernardini said. "[The win was] really big. We dropped three in a row, and that's never fun."

Bernardini finished with 12 points for Penn (4-4), which was led by Zack Rosen's 20 points and five assists.

"We all know Tyler can make shots, but I'm just asking a little more, and I think he'll respond," Allen said.

The coach's message was that whether it's Bernardini or any other Quaker, he expects more than just a pretty stat sheet.

"We can't stand around and hope 50-50 balls fall in our hands," Allen said. "All 50-50 balls we have to have."

Another positive of Allen's shake-up for Penn was the emergence of little-used sophomore Marin Kukoc, who scored 11 points in a career-high 33 minutes in his most productive game as a Quaker.

Kukoc, the son of former Sixers forward Toni Kukoc, entered averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.1 minutes. He added four rebounds and three assists Tuesday.

"I thought Marin was big tonight," Allen said. "If he doesn't knock down the shots he did, I'm not sure we have the same result. It's a credit to him just getting this opportunity and responding."

He likely caught Allen's eye with a pair of big three-pointers in the Quakers' 60-58 loss to James Madison Saturday night.

"It was unexpected, but he felt like staying with me," against Manhattan, said Kukoc, who missed all of last season with a back injury. "Guys found me and I was knocking them down. I was trying to do what I could when I was out there."

Kukoc's father was in town over the weekend and told his son to remain positive. Against the Jaspers, he finished 3 for 3 from the arc and 4 for 7 overall.

Bernardini and Dougherty, who had started all seven games, were replaced by first-time starters Henry Brooks and Cameron Gunter.

Brooks, a 6-foot-8 freshman forward, was coming off his best game as a Quaker, when he scored 10 points against James Madison. Gunter, a 6-8 sophomore forward, was making his first career start.

Brooks finished with four points and Gunter was scoreless.

Bernardini said he played the same way as usual.

"Just have to go out there and play hard, that's what I try to do," he said. "Try to win games."

Allen was pleased with the victory, but far from satisfied.

"I can't say we were the hardest-playing team on every possession," he said. "We've got guys reaching for it, and they've got guys diving for it. That's really how I compute who's giving more effort."

"I'm somewhat happy, but we have a ton of work to do and I won't be blinded by a 'W.' We're aiming for perfection."