TJ Power lifts No. 3 Penn past No. 1 Yale in instant classic Ivy League Tournament final to earn NCAA berth

Penn men’s basketball celebrates its 2026 Ivy League Tournament championship at Newman Arena on March 15, 2026.  (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

ITHACA, N.Y. – Now that’s a super Power.

In a game for the ages, junior TJ Power tallied 44 points to lead Penn men’s basketball past Yale in overtime, 88-84, to an improbable Ivy League Tournament championship at Newman Arena and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Power’s 44 points were a career high and tied an Ivy Madness record set a year ago when Harmoni Turner also tallied 44 points to lead Harvard women’s basketball to its first Ivy League Tournament title.

Power drilled seven of Penn’s 14 three-pointers in the monumental victory.

But the last one should never have happened.

Leading by three with five seconds left on the clock, Yale coach James Jones called timeout to set his defense as Penn prepared to inbound the ball under its own basket.

Everyone, including Penn coach Fran McCaffery, assumed the Bulldogs would foul rather than let Power shoot a three.

They were wrong.

Guarded by Yale swingman Casey Simmons, Power quickly dribbled the ball up the court and pulled up just beyond the arc on the right side and let the ball fly. It swished the net to tie the game at 75 with two seconds to go. After a last-second heave by Yale guard Trevor Mullin barely missed, the teams headed to overtime.

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