With just 0.6 miles separating the Daskalakis Athletic Center and the Palestra, "The Battle of 33rd Street" is known as the closest geographical rivalry in U.S. college sports. For both Drexel and Penn, not only is a win or loss on the line, but city bragging rights as well, as the two schools share a physical border with one another.
After waiting a long nine years dating back to the 2007-08 season, Penn was finally able to snap Drexel’s six-game win streak in the series, as the Quakers topped the Dragons, 75-67, on Wednesday night (see Instant Replay).
Youth was the key to success for the Quakers as second-year head coach Steve Donahue elected to start freshmen guards Ryan Betley and Devon Goodman alongside freshman star forward A.J. Brodeur.
“Everything I do is performance-based,” Donahue said. “Who deserves it, who plays hard in practice and I try to keep it that way and I think until we start winning consistently and guys start earning those spots and help us consistently win, then we're going to try to do this as a team. “
Betley, who suffered a broken hand prior to the season, was not only making his first collegiate start but was playing in his first game of the season. He scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds in 26 minutes of action, while Brodeur led the way with 19 points. Goodman chipped in three points.
“It was a great feeling,” Betley said. “There’s nothing better than playing here and representing my school. It’s a good confidence booster, my first game playing in the Palestra, there’s nothing better than that.”
Donahue said that he felt coming into this game, the Quakers needed to get a boost from somewhere. Throwing Betley into the starting lineup was just the right spark.
“The little things Ryan does – he played 26 minutes and he had seven rebounds – I thought he could give us a little more aggressiveness in the game,” Donahue said. “When Ryan came back from the hand injury, he was as good as he was when he left. I just think he gives us something that we don’t have right now, another scorer at that size.”
With Betley and Goodman in the mix, the Quakers have the ability to be dangerous in the Ivy League, and they showed that Wednesday night by beating Drexel.
Penn started the game off hot, shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc and 43.8 percent from the floor in the first half. The Quakers led for all but 13 seconds of the first half, and had the lead for 38 minutes total in the game.
However, despite trailing the entire game, Drexel staged a furious comeback attempt led by junior Miles Overton. Trailing by five with just under two minutes remaining, Overton nailed a three from the top of the key to put the Dragons within two.
It was a stellar defensive effort that ended up being the key to Penn’s victory. The Quakers were active on the defensive end right from the start, forcing 17 Drexel turnovers, including a late steal by Darnell Foreman to seal the victory.
For a team that features 11 underclassmen, six of which are freshmen, the young Quakers squad kept its composure and was able to clamp down in the final seconds to stop Drexel’s comeback bid.
Despite the victory, Donahue feels his team has a long way to go before it can be mentioned in the tops of the Ivy League.
“Here’s the good thing about this year, there’s a conference tournament at the end of this,” Donahue said. “I don’t think we’re there yet. I love where our defense is at, I love our toughness, I love our grittiness and I think were all-in. Now I have to get better execution on the offensive end, a little more flow to our game and a little more confidence on that side of the ball so we don’t have five- to 10-minute lulls that we occasionally have.”
Donahue is just now starting to see the full extent of his first recruiting class, and so far, he likes what he sees.
“I think we’re still in the process of building this program back to where I think it can be,” Donahue said. “I think we have the makings of a terrific, young nucleus and were going to try and do that every year.
“I try to make it simple: recruit good kids who help you recruit good players, who help you recruit better players and that’s what we’re going to try to do and build it that way.”