- While most of the nation’s attention was focused on Election Night coverage, seven of the 16 Ivy teams opened the 2018-19 season. When the evening was over, the four men’s and three women’s teams were victorious and there was no need for any recounts. After noting the highs and lows for the Penn men, below are summaries for the other six squads.
Brown (women) 68 vs Central Connecticut State 63
The Bears trailed by six at halftime and one with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, before going on a 9-0 run to pull away from the Blue Devils. Justine Gaziano had a game high 27 points, while Shayna Mehta added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Brown, who beat CCSU by 23 on the road last November, only shot 33 percent from the field and 11 percent from three. Despite hitting only 63 percent from the free throw line, Brown had 22 more attempts and 14 more made baskets than the Blue Devils. Defensively, they held CCSU to 38 percent from the field and 20 percent from three, while forcing 25 turnovers and 21 steals.
Cornell (men) 86 at Binghamton 75
In the opening game of the inaugural Central NY Hoops Classic, the Big Red used an 11-3 run over the last three minutes of the first half to take a 37-33 lead into the break. With the Bearcats up 69-66 with just under eight minutes left in regulation, Cornell went on a 17-2 run over the next six and a half minutes to open up a double-digit lead that it would never relinquish. Matt Morgan had a career high 38 points (5-7 from two, 5-8 from three, 13-14 free throws) and 13 rebounds. The three time Ivy scoring champ finished the night with 1,684 points, moving past John Bajusz for second place on the school’s all-time scoring list. Jimmy “JJ” Boeheim came off the bench to put up career highs of 20 points (6-for-9 from two, 1-for-2 from three, 5-for-7 from the foul line) and seven boards. The Red got to the free throw line 34 times, making 25, while Binghamton only took 16 and hit six. Cornell also kept the Bearcats off the three point line, holding their best outside threat to 1-for-7 shooting and the team to a 29 percent rate.
Dartmouth (men) 114 vs Newbury College 39
The Big Green put up a record number of three pointers (22) and assists (31) on their way to amassing the second highest point total in program history. (Dartmouth’s all-time high is 121, which came on Jan. 16, 2016 against the Newbury coach’s previous team, Pine Manor College) Junior guards Brendan Barry and James Foye led the way with with career highs of 26 and 18 points, respectively. Barry hit eight of 10 three pointers, while Foye added four of seven. Against a Division III Nighthawks squad that had only one player over 6′ 4″, Chris Knight had 11 points/10 rebounds, Adrease Jackson put up 14 points/nine rebounds/2 blocks, and Will Emery had six points/14 rebounds/six assists. After going past the century mark, there was no truth to the rumor that Dartmouth gave a coupon for free Abner’s cheesesteaks to all 492 people in attendance.
Harvard (men) 78 vs MIT 66
The Crimson opened up a quick nine-point lead, but the Engineers were able to get to halftime down only one, 40-39. Harvard started out the second half on a 14-2 run over the first five minutes to create some breathing room. MIT cut the lead to five with six and a half minutes to go, but a Christian Juzang three on the next possession stopped any chance the Engineers had of getting the upset over their crosstown rival. Chris Lewis led all players with 20 points and three blocks, despite being limited to 15 minutes due to foul trouble, while first year guard Noah Kirkwood came off the bench to add 13 points in 21 minutes. The Crimson controlled the area around the basket, shooting 71 percent and holding MIT to a 41 percent rate from two.
Princeton (women) 89 vs Rider 65
Even without Bella Alarie and Abby Meyers, the Tigers were able to dominate the Broncs. Princeton was hot out of the gate, opening up a 30-12 lead after 10 minutes and stretching it to 25 at the half. Rider could not get closer than 19 during the second half and ended up losing by 24. The Orange & Black shot 57 percent from the field, including nine three-pointers at a 47 percent rate. The team was led by Gabrielle Rush, who went 5-for-7 from downtown on her way to 25 points, and Carlie Littlefield, who put up 16 points and five assists. Taylor Baur, making her first career start, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Defensively, the Tigers allowed eight three-pointers at a 36 percent rate, but they outrebounded Rider 37-23 and held the Broncs to 46 percent shooting from two.
Yale (women) 80 vs Colgate 61
The Bulldogs opened up a 22-point lead on the strength of a 17-0 run in the middle of the first half and a 11-0 run to start the third quarter. The Red Raiders chipped away at the lead and got it down to six with seven minutes left in regulation, but a 17-4 run over the next four minutes put the game away for the Bulldogs. Roxy Barahman stuffed the stats sheet with 25 points, four three-pointers, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Camilla Emsbo, the highly touted five star top 50 recruit, finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. While Yale’s offense only hit 26 percent from three and 49 percent from the charity stripe, they did manage to shoot 53 percent from two. Their revamped defense, which will rely less on backcourt thievery, still forced 19 turnovers, in addition to holding Colgate to 40 percent two point shooting and a 21 percent rate from three.