At one point this month, Penn Wood owned a 2-5 record. The Patriots, District One's Class AAAA defending champion, were down in the dumps following a loss at the hands of league rival Chester.

Maybe all the Patriots needed was a trip nearly 900 miles from home.

Penn Wood thrashed Crenshaw (Calif.), 84-62, in a game that was never all that close at the Brandon Jennings Invitational, in Milwaukee, Wis. That makes five wins in a row for the Patriots (7-5), who appear to have righted the ship.

So is the Patriots' switch flipped?

Aaron Brown, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, earned MVP honors Saturday with a 21-point, 13-rebound effort. Shawn Oakman, who had missed a couple with a sprained ankle, scored five points in his return. And Darian Barnes, who had been invisible in the scoring column of late, went off for 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Something else to consider: junior point guard Malcolm Richardson, who had strung together consecutive 25-point games, only put down eight against Crenshaw. The fact is, with everyone else scoring, his role wasn't as essential. That's what happens when everything is clicking on all cylinders.

Things were going so well for Penn Wood, even reserve point guard Jerry Price tossed in 14 points.

Lost in the shuffle of it all was the tournament - the Brandon Jennings Invitational. The Milwaukee Bucks star spent time with all of the teams, stayed for all of the games and allowed the players to attend Saturday's Bucks-Grizzlies game.

"It was an awesome event," said Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones.

Yeah, especially when your team has gotten its groove back.