Best Second Half: Princeton rode a 50 point second half to an impressive 77-66 victory over Columbia at Jadwin. The Tigers limited Mark Cisco to 4 points and 5 rebounds, as Doug Davis notched 20 points and Ian Hummer added 16 to lead Princeton into the top half. The Tigers stuck with a short rotation of eight players and it allowed their guys to get in a shooting rhythm, as the team shot 51% from the field on the evening with all eight getting into the scoring column. The game was all tied up at 27 at the half, but a 14-3 run in the middle of the second half pushed the Tigers ahead to stay. Mack Darrow contributed 19 points off the bench (4-6 FG, 9-9 FT) in 26 minutes to provide an important spark. For the Lions, Brian Barbour continued to showcase his ability as a scorer with 22 points (5-12 FG, 11-13 FT), and Blaise Staab took advantage of the start by pouring in 12 points to go with 6 rebounds. Princeton takes on Cornell in a critical matchup at Jadwin tonight as the Tigers try to climb back up the standings.
Best TCOB: The Crimson continued to take care of business, dispatching of eternally-undermanned Brown (star big man Andrew McCarthy was out for this one with a back injury) 69-42 behind a strong first half that put this game out of reach early. Brown went over 11 minutes without scoring towards the end of the first half during a 20-0 run for Harvard that took the game from 15-14 to 35-14, extinguishing any upset thoughts the Bears may have had. Keith Wright recorded a double-double in the first half before sitting down and letting the bench get some court time. Harvard”s lead only got bigger in the second half as Brown really struggled from a lack of inside presence. With the win, Harvard extended its home-court winning streak to 26 games. Wright finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes, while Steve Moundou-Missi came off the bench with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks in only 18 minutes. For Brown, Matt Sullivan and Sean McGonagill had 11 a piece. Harvard hosts archrival Yale tonight with first place on the line.
Best Free Throw Shooting: Yale went into Hanover and came away with a hard-fought 70-61 victory over Dartmouth. The Bulldogs held Dartmouth at an arm”s length all night, but the Big Green did close within four points in the
final minutes before Yale hit free throws to provide the final margin. The Elis pounded the ball inside, getting to the line 33 times and knocking down 30 of their freebies (91%). Mangano was dominant on the glass, grabbing 15 boards and adding 16 points (6-13 from the field), but it was a balanced attack for the Bulldogs that got it done on this night. Austin Morgan led the scoring for the Bulldogs with 17 points earned largely at the stripe (12-12 FT), while Reggie Willhite contributed 13 points and 9 rebounds. Kreisberg hit double figures too with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Yale”s Mike Grace was limited to 7 minutes, presumably due to the lingering effects of last weekend”s ankle injury. For the Big Green, it was yet another single-digit loss in a season full of missed opportunities. Gabas Maldunas had a career high 23 points (8-18) to go with 11 rebounds in the loss. Fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Jvonte Brooks had 14 points and 5 rebounds.
Best Duo: At the Palestra, Penn knocked off Cornell 73-66 behind a late run and another huge night from man-on-a-mission Zack Rosen, who poured in 25 points on 8-17 shooting (5-10 from three). Rosen also garnered 5 rebounds and 6 assists, only turning the ball over once. His partner in crime on this night was Miles Cartwright, who stepped up with his best game of the season, notching 22 points on 7-10 shooting including 5-6 from three point range. Cornell led 59-55 with less than five minutes remaining, but 11 points and two steals from Rosen in a three minute span pushed the Quakers up four with just over a minute to go. Cornell was doomed by its inability to get stops down the stretch. Penn was only stopped once in the game”s final four minutes on a miss by Tyler Bernardini. For the Big Red, it was all backcourt on the offensive end. Ferry (17 pts), Gray (15 pts), and Wroblewski (14 pts) combined for 46 points in the losing effort. With the defeat, Cornell tumbles back into the bottom half of the league with a tough trip to Princeton looming tonight, while Penn hosts Columbia.