Penn fails to outrun Providence, but shooting stars emerge for the Quakers

With new coach Fran McCaffery’s full-speed offense in full swing, Penn was able to run all night long Tuesday at Providence. But a 15-4 Providence run in the first half funneled into the second, finding the Quakers on the wrong end of a 106-81 final.

Essentially, while Penn played fast, attacking basketball, Providence played faster, outshooting the Quakers from inside the arc while also containing senior forward Ethan Roberts, who finished with 15 points.

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“We go quick up and then we move the ball,” McCaffery said. “And if you move the ball, you screen, you cut — somebody’s going to be open.”

During his 15 years at Iowa, McCaffery’s teams were known for their pace and shot-taking abilities. In his third game as the coach at Penn (1-2), it seems McCaffery has no interest in changing up the game plan.

Less than 10 seconds into the matchup, Michael Zanoni laced a triple to open the scoring for Penn, with the junior guard setting a fast-paced tone that dominated a majority of the game.

The teams traded haymakers, but Penn’s inability to score in transition made the difference, with the Quakers notching just four points off fast breaks in comparison to the Friars’ 26 by the end of the game.

“Some of those guys that are really good drivers are big,” McCaffery said in reference to the Friars. “When you get to the end and the guy does a pretty good job defensively, they can still shoot over you.”

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Zanoni broke out against Penn State last season with a career-high 27 points on 7-for-12 shooting from behind the arc. Soon after, the sharpshooting transfer from Mercer missed more than a month of play because of mononucleosis.

Following up his 20-point outburst against American, Zanoni scored eight straight points for the Quakers to open the game. The shooting guard caught fire again early in the second, eclipsing his career high with seven minutes left to go in the contest. He finished with 30 points.

“It takes a lot of energy,” McCaffery said in reference to the offense. “... We had a couple guys cooking, so we left them in there.”

Zanoni made 10 of 17 shots, a much-needed performance on a night when first option Roberts shot 4-for-16 from the floor. Transfer TJ Power also set a career high with 15 points.

“[Power] is doing great,” McCaffery said. “... I give him a lot of credit — he fought to get back and he’s been really good for us so far. He played well today.”

The departure of captain Nick Spinoso last season has left a void at the center position for the Quakers, which has been most felt on defense. The Friars, who run a similarly fast-paced offense, attacked the rim at will, finishing with 46 points inside the arc.

Auggie Gerhart failed to make an impact, as the starting center was called for two travels and three personal fouls, missing five shots as he tried to contest the Friars’ onslaught.

Dalton Scantlebury, the Quakers’ other center, did not impress in his limited minutes either, which leaves a question mark in the middle of Penn’s lineup.

But it’s not a question for McCaffery.

“I do think we have depth that will manifest itself over the rest of the season,” he said.

The Quakers return to the Palestra for their Big 5 opener against St. Joseph’s, led by former Penn coach Steve Donahue, on Monday (7 p.m., NBC Sports Philadelphia).

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