Nick Townsend

Quakeaways after Penn men’s basketball’s 90-61 loss to Yale

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Penn’s Saturday matchup against Yale went pretty much according to script.

The Bulldogs opened the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back from there in a 90-61 dismissal of the Quakers at the Palestra. Penn (6-13, 2-4 Ivy) rallied from that opening punch to the mouth and cut the deficit to as little as seven points with 4:38 to go in the first half after a Niklas Polonowski layup.

Yale (13-6, 6-0) responded with an immediate 10-0 run, which was kicked off by a deep open three from stretch big man Nick Townsend. Penn never seriously threatened after.

Instead of recapping what went into an entirely predictable loss, these Quakeaways will instead be reformulated as questions, which will hopefully establish what’s at stake the rest of the season.

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“We jumped on them quick”: Yale men’s basketball routs Harvard, 84-55

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Harvard and Yale tip off Saturday at John J. Lee Amphitheater, where the Bulldogs dominated in an 84-55 win. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale students were back at Lee Amphitheater, Harvard was starting three freshmen, John Poulakidas hit his first couple of shots, and all that meant the Crimson had no chance Saturday afternoon.

Harvard fought in fits and starts, but in the end, the result was a formality, an 84-55 Yale win that brought the Bulldogs to the top of the Ivy League after Princeton’s loss and setting up a showdown with the Tigers Friday night in New Jersey.

“We jumped on them quick,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We were really efficient, we didn’t have a turnover (in the first 19 minutes), we were poised and focused. We lost it a little at the end of the first half and fought to get it back, and we did in the middle of the second half. When we’re playing at a high level like we were, we’re pretty good and it’s fun to watch.”

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Yale men’s basketball still has room for improvement after downing Dartmouth

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Dartmouth and Yale tip off at John J. Lee Amphitheater Monday for what became an 83-67 win for the latter over the former. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Bez Mbeng was not in the mood for mincing words after setting Yale’s all-time career steals record in an 83-67 win over Dartmouth Monday afternoon.

“I love defense,” Mbeng, who passed former Yale standout Alex Zampier (2006-10) for the record, said.

And as he has for most of the last three seasons for Yale, Mbeng led the way in that department Monday at Lee Amphitheater, harassing Ryan Cornish, Connor Amundsen, or whomever else he was in the neighborhood of, finishing with three steals to go with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

“It means a lot to me,” Mbeng said. “A lot of credit goes to my teammates and coaches for getting me better and putting me in good positions to get those steals. I’m just really thankful right now.”

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Yale men’s basketball outlasts Columbia, 92-88

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It was billed as a battle between the two top Ivy scorers. And it lived up to expectations.

Senior guard John Poulakidas notched 29 points, one off his career high, to lead Yale to a 92-88 win over Columbia at Levien Gym Saturday.

“I take my work and my craft very seriously,” Poulakidas said. “We have a team full of dogs.”

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Yale men’s basketball bests Brown, 79-58, in Ivy League opener

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Two teams with strong revenge motives met at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday.

Brown had defeated Yale on the last day of the regular season last year (84-81) to prevent Yale from sharing the regular season Ivy title with Princeton.

But then Yale overcame a six-point deficit with 27 seconds left to defeat Brown in the Ivy League championship game in March, 62-61.

It was Yale that prevailed Saturday in the rematch, 79-58.

“Really good team win for us. We got contributions from everyone,” Yale coach James Jones said.

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Yale men’s basketball downs Akron, 74-58, in El Paso

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The bad news is that Yale had 18 turnovers.

The good news is that Yale outrebounded the Akron Zips, 47-25, in the first round of the Sun Bowl Invitational en route to a convincing 74-58 win at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas Friday. Yale (6-5) will face the winner of the UTEP-Jackson State game Saturday night for the tournament championship.

“Great team rebounding effort tonight,” Yale coach James Jones said.

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Yale men’s basketball demolishes Fairfield, 91-66

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Revenge is sweet.

Yale exacted some against Fairfield Saturday, 91-66, in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun.

Last season, Fairfield stunned Yale, 75-71, at John J. Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs wouldn’t let that happen again en route to what became the 400th win of his coaching career.

“That was a really good Yale basketball win,” Jones said, adding that the 400-win achievement “[j]ust means I have been around a long time.”

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Yale men’s basketball dominates in 86-64 win at Stony Brook

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Yale came close to playing the perfect first stanza en route to a convincing 86-64 road win over Stony Brook Wednesday evening.

Yale (3-3) held a 48-28 lead at the half. The Bulldogs were 8-for-13 from three and held a 22-16 rebounding edge. They outscored Stony Brook (2-3) in the paint, 16-8.

Senior guard John Poulakidas, the game’s leading scorer, had 15 points at halftime and hit his first six shots.

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Yale men’s basketball falls at No. 13 Purdue, 92-84

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Yale men’s basketball owned the paint, but Purdue owned the perimeter, as the No. 13 Boilermakers defeated Yale 92-84 at a sold-out Mackey Arena Monday night.

Yale (1-2) outscored Purdue (3-0) 50-24 in the paint and 11-5 on offensive rebounds.

Bulldogs coach James Jones called his team’s showing a “tough gritty performance, a few costly possessions from a great road win.”

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No. 13 Yale men’s basketball falls to No. 5 San Diego State, 85-57, in NCAA Tournament second round

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Yale senior forward Matt Knowling, senior guard August Mahoney and coach James Jones sit for their postgame press conference following an 85-57 loss to San Diego State Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (March Madness video broadcast)

No. 13 Yale’s NCAA Tournament run ended with a second-round thud Sunday night local time in Spokane, Wash. in an 85-57 loss to No. 5 San Diego State.

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