Ivy men’s week five roundup: Ancient Eight’s Top 10

After another exciting weekend of Ivy hoops that saw all the home teams holding serve, the league standings have a tie at the top, and seven teams are separated by only two games. 

Yale continued its dominance of Princeton, winning for the eighth time in their last nine matchups.  Meanwhile, Penn, losers of three straight league contests, won its third straight over Harvard in a must-win game at the Palestra. 

Cornell, missing Nazir Williams, took care of Brown, which was without Kalu Anya, Dan Friday and Malachi Ndur.  Dartmouth continued its strong league play with a victory over Columbia, its third league win it its last four contests and finds itself over .500 at the halfway point for the first time since 2009.

Saturday results
Yale over Princeton, 87-65
Penn over Harvard, 83-68
Cornell over Brown, 80-73
Dartmouth over Columbia, 83-73

Standings 
Cornell 5-2 (15-5, overall)
Princeton 5-2 (14-6)
Yale 4-3 (14-6)
Dartmouth 4-3 (8-13)
Harvard 3-4 (12-9)
Brown 3-4 (10-10)
Penn 3-4 (11-11)
Columbia 1-6 (6-16)

The second half of the schedule starts with a big back-to-back weekend, highlighted by a matchup between the league leaders at Jadwin Gymnasium and Yale looking for revenge against Dartmouth at Leede Arena.

Fri., Feb. 3
Yale at Harvard, 5:00 p.m.
Brown at Dartmouth, 6:00 p.m.
Columbia at Penn, 7:00 p.m.
Cornell at Princeton, 7:00 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 4
Yale at Dartmouth, 6:00 p.m.
Brown at Harvard, 6:00 p.m.
Columbia at Princeton, 6:00 p.m.
Cornell at Penn, 6:00 p.m.

Below are 10 of the top performances from the weekend: – 

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Yale men pull away with hot hands in 87-65 win over Princeton

Junior forward Matt Knowling delivered 12 points on 6-for-10 field-goal shooting, nine rebounds and two steals in Yale’s 87-65 win over Princeton at the John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Editor’s note: Ivy Hoops Online writers George “Toothless Tiger” Clark and Richard Kent deliver audio and written recaps, respectively, of Yale’s stunning second-half offensive outburst that secured a win over Princeton:   

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Princeton women shut down Yale, 79-30

Junior forward Ellie Mitchell anchored a characteristically stifling defense in Princeton’s 79-30 blowout win over Yale Saturday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Our George “Tiger” Clark recaps how the Princeton women shut down Yale in a 79-30 rout at Jadwin Gym Saturday to move ahead of Yale in the Ivy standings in a three-way tie for second place behind Columbia with a rematch looming next Saturday:

Princeton women’s St. Rose earns second straight Ivy Rookie of the Week award

Princeton guard Madison St. Rose is Ivy Rookie of the Week for a second straight week, a result of her shooting much more efficiently in recent games. (Madison St. Rose Twitter)

Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reports on Princeton guard Madison St. Rose catching fire for the Tigers, earning her second straight Ivy Rookie of the Week honor after leading the Tigers to a 79-59 win over Dartmouth with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting Saturday.

Princeton men’s Pierce named Ivy Rookie of the Week

Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark weighs in on Princeton men’s forward Caden Pierce being named Ivy Rookie of the Week after coming through in the clutch in the Tigers’ overtime win over Dartmouth Saturday:

Princeton men outlast Dartmouth in 93-90 overtime thriller

Reigning Ivy Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan contributed a team-high 20 points and five assists in Princeton’s overtime win over Dartmouth at Jadwin Gym Saturday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Ivy Hoops Online writer George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reflects on an instant classic in which the Princeton men pulled out a 93-90 overtime victory over Dartmouth at Jadwin Gym Saturday, including clutch plays by Princeton freshmen down the stretch and one of the most impressive performances by a visiting player that our Toothless Tiger has ever seen:

Princeton women pull away in 79-59 win at Dartmouth

Junior Kaitlyn Chen posted 13 points, eight rebounds and two steals in Princeton’s 79-59 win at Dartmouth Saturday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Ivy Hoops Online writer George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps the Princeton women’s 79-59 win at Dartmouth, a harder-fought battle than many might have expected between the Tigers (13-5, 4-2 Ivy) and the Big Green (2-18, 0-6):

Princeton women’s St. Rose steps up to earn Ivy Rookie of the Week honor

Princeton first-year guard Madison St. Rose was named Ivy Rookie of the Week Tuesday. (Madison St. Rose Twitter page)

Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reflects on the standout week that earned Princeton first-year guard Madison St. Rose Ivy Rookie of the Week recognition Tuesday:

Three Quakeaways from Penn men’s fast fade-out in loss to Princeton

Penn men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue has work to do to help turn around a season starting to head south after a third loss in four games and seventh straight loss to Princeton Monday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

PHILADELPHIA — Penn’s season looks like it’s on the verge of spinning out of control after the Quakers delivered a dispiriting offensive performance en route to a 72-60 home defeat against archrival Princeton.

If you had told the average Quakers fan prior to the game that Penn (9-10, 2-3 Ivy) would hold Princeton (13-5, 4-1) to 40.4% shooting from the field, four made three-pointers on 25 attempts and just six assists on 23 made baskets, they would have told you that the Red and Blue would likely win by double digits.

Instead, the Quakers one-upped the Tigers’ offensive futility. Penn failed to make a single three-pointer on Monday, and, in fact, has not hit a single shot from long distance since Jordan Dingle’s four-point play opportunity with 3:29 to go in the first half of Penn’s Saturday loss to Dartmouth.

The backbreaking sequence for the Quakers came with roughly 10:38 to go in the second half and Princeton up two, 40-38. The Tigers’ Ryan Langborg freed himself from Penn’s Andrew Laczkowski for a decent look at a three and drained the shot. Penn forward Nick Spinoso was simultaneously called for a foul away from the ball.

Princeton was in the bonus, so standout freshman Caden Pierce calmly drained both ends of a one-and-one to complete the five-point possession. The Tigers’ lead was just seven points, 45-38, but it may as well have been 20, given Penn’s offensive struggles.

Most of the Quakeaways from Monday are ugly, so look away if you must:

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Princeton men pull away at Palestra to beat Penn for seventh straight time, 72-60

Defending Ivy Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan turned in a typically robust stat line in Princeton’s win at Penn Monday: 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reports on how the Princeton men pulled away at the Palestra to defeat Penn, 72-60, for a seventh consecutive time: