In last year’s home opener, the Quakers left their starters in until the final minute and scored 19 points in the last 5 minutes to put up 97 points (three away from giving the fans cheesesteaks) on Florida Gulf Coast in a 97-74 win.
This year a stronger, and newly Division I, FGCU team took that to heart.
“I remember distinctly when they were beating us and they got a steal and they were high-stepping and putting one arm out and trying to run a lob,” coach Dave Balza told The News-Press after the game this year.
As I’m sure you know by now, the Eagles held the Quakers to six points in the first half, winning 60-30. This year’s winning team didn’t rub it in (in fact Penn closed the game on a 12-0 run), but kind of wanted to.
“Guys were joking, ‘Let’s press them at the end,’” Balza said. “We remembered that last year and we sold that throughout the week and it paid dividends. I thought we were really dialed in.
“I would’ve liked to run the score up and pressed some, but I guess we gotta be classy.”
Ouch. If that’s not a shot at Glen Miller I don’t know what is.
Tags: glen miller
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January 1st, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Even as a Penn alum, I totally agree with the FGC coach. I’m rarely embarrassed to be a Penn sports fan. We compete very well for the level we’re at, and I think the kids go to class and for the most part stay out of trouble. But last year when we were running up the score on a brand new D-1 team, it seemed really out of line. I wish FGC did press Penn at the end and that it finished up 60-18. We deserved it, or worse, after last year.