Improving Penn With Tough Test Tonight At Vandy

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The Penn Quakers are down in Tennessee for a tough road match-up tonight with the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The Quakers have turned things around here as of late. After starting the season 0-5, Penn's now won three straight. Last time out on  December 9th, they smothered Marist at the Palestra, 59-42.

"It's a fine line," Penn head coach Jerome Allen tells KYW Newsradio, "between me being happy and me being crazy, just in terms of me having an appreciation that they did enough to finally put some wins together, but also still focusing on the details to try to get them to not be complacent or content and just get them to demand  that they execute in every possession. So I'm happy for these guys as their progressing, but we have a long way to go."

Listen to Jerome Allen with KYW's Matt Leon:

The Quakers have played very good defense during their current winning streak, allowing just 52.7 points per game while holding opponents to 30.5% field goal shooting.

Another key to their recent success has been the emergence of freshman sharpshooter Sam Jones. The 6-7 forward is shooting 59% in the last three games, including a 10 for 17 performance from 3. He is tied for fourth on the team in scoring overall, pouring in 7.3 ppg.

"You've got to know where he's at on the floor at all times," Allen says. "His ability to make shots, whether contested or open, kind of makes the game a lot easier for our inside guys, it makes the game a lot easier for the other guys on the perimeter, whose strength right now is attacking the paint. So he's been a joy to watch develop thus far and I'm happy with his progress."

Vanderbilt is 7-3 this season and coming off a 65-60 loss to Georgia Tech last time out on Saturday. The Commodores are executing at a high level on offense, shooting 51% from the field as a team.

"First and foremost, they share the ball, they play for one another," Allen says. "It's a certain sense of selflessness about them that's pretty good. The big thing is they play to their strengths. They're pretty good inside, they've got guys that can make shots on the perimeter. And they take open shots. So that always helps."

Tonight's game in Nashville tips off at 8:00 pm.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.

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