NEW HAVEN, Conn – Yale was at its best when it mattered the most Saturday night against Penn. The Bulldogs executed near flawlessly over the final five minutes to pull away from the Quakers and post an important 70-63 victory before an enthusiastic crowd at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Trailing 54-53, Yale outscored Penn 17-9 over the final 5:52.
August Mahoney played a key role, scoring seven of his team-high 17 points during the run as the Bulldogs improved to 13-6 overall and 3-3 in Ivy League play.
EJ Jarvis added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Bez Mbeng also scored 14 points, while
John Poulakidas had nine points,
Isaiah Kelly contributed six points and four assists and
Danny Wolf had five points, including a big three-pointer in the first half.
Yale was trailing 38-35 at halftime but used a 10-1 run to move ahead by six. The Bulldogs had the lead for more than 17 minutes of the second half but couldn't quite shake the Quakers. George Smith's three-pointer with just under six minutes left gave Penn a 54-53 advantage, setting up the dramatic finish.
"In the first half we were out of sync offensively. We didn't move the ball the way we are capable of," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "In the second half we did a better job of driving the ball and getting to the rim."
Yale also got to the foul line and took advantage, making 10-of-11 over the final 20 minutes.
Jordan Dingle, who entered the game third in the nation in scoring, had another big night, finishing with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Only eight of his points, though, came in the second half.
Mbeng spent much of the night defending Dingle.
"I love guarding the best player on the other team. I take pride in that," said Mbeng, Yale's best on-the-ball defender. "He's a great player. There were multiple times where I contested, but he just hit the shot. You have to tip your hat to him."
In the second half, the Bulldogs limited Penn to 41 percent shooting from the field.
Yale improved to 7-1 in the friendly confines of Lee Amphitheater and certainly benefitted from the energy of the student section.
"The atmosphere of all the students being back made it fun," said Jarvis, who also had two blocks to go along with his double-double.
Yale is back home next Saturday to host Princeton. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.
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