Ivy League Basketball Roundup: 12/4/2014
Below is the Ivy League Basketball Roundup for Thursday, December 4, 2014. A bevy of 6 Ivy League teams were in action – Brown, Penn, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
Brown Struggles At Home In Loss To American
Jesse Reed’s 22 points and 8 rebounds were enough for American to send Brown to a 66-49 loss.
The final score was not indicative of how the game started. Both teams started well, but Brown took a 17-9 before American surged back with a 9-0 run and an 18-17 lead with over 8 minutes left in the first half. The rest of the half was back and forth with American taking a 29-28 lead at the break.
Jesse Reed led American with 10 points in the first half on 4 of 6 shooting. The Eagles shot 48% from the field, hit 1 of 5 three pointers (20%), and hit 80% of free throws. The Eagles committed only 4 turnovers in the first half. Brown was led by Cedric Kuakumensah with 12 points. The Bears hit 40% of their shots and hit 3 of 10 three pointers (30%). Brown out-rebounded American 17 to 13 and committed 7 turnovers.
The first half was even for 7 minutes, but then American took over. American led 38-35 with 13:18 with the Eagles completely taking over for the rest of the second half. They held Brown to just 14 points over the next 13 minutes while putting up 28 of their own.
Reed led American with 12 second half points and 5 rebounds. The Eagles hit 52.4% of their shots and went 4 of 6 from beyond the arc (66.7%). They won the battle on the glass 18-14 and committed only 5 turnovers. Tavon Blackmon was the top scorer for Brown with 6 points. The Bears shot only 28% in the second half and missed all 5 three pointers. They committed 5 turnovers.
For the game, Jesse Reed had 22 points on 6 of 10 shooting including making all three of his three pointers and 7 of 8 free throws. He also corralled 8 rebounds. Zach Elcano had 13 points and 4 rebounds while John Schoof scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Pee Wee Gardner also had 8 points and 8 rebounds for the Eagles. American went 23 of 46 from the field (50%) and hit 5 of 11 three pointers (45.5%). They went 15 of 21 from the charity stripe (71.4%), out-rebounded Brown by a slight 34 to 32 margin, and committed 9 turnovers.
Cedric Kuakumensah finished with 17 points and 4 rebounds for Brown. Leland King had 11 points and 13 rebounds while Tavon Blackmon scored 9 points and had 4 assists. The Bears shot 17 of 50 from the field (34%) and hit 3 of 15 three pointers (20%). They went 12 of 19 from the free throw line (63.2%) and committed 12 turnovers.
American (5-3) travels to face #24 Illinois (6-1) on Saturday. Brown’s (3-6) loss snapped a two game win streak and faces Bryant (1-4) on Saturday.
Penn Finally Gets First Win
Penn had a monster first half that provided them enough cushion to get the win over Navy. The Quakers won 57-46 on the road.
Neither team had an advantage at the second TV timeout with the score tied at 10-10, but Penn would take command shortly thereafter. Penn went on a 9-2 run to take a 19-12 lead before blowing the game wide open. 3 of the next 4 buckets for the Quakers were three pointers and that provided them with a 30-19 lead. The Quakers finished off the half with an 8-2 run and a 38-21 halftime lead.
The second half was not nearly as fast-paced. At the first TV timeout, Penn led 47-28 while the second TV timeout provided a score of 49-32, meaning that only 6 points were scored in 4 minutes. Navy continued to chip away at the deficit and made it single digits at 52-44 with 5:25 remaining in the game. However, the Midshipmen struggled from the field for the rest of the game making just one bucket and not putting pressure on the Quakers to make their free throws.
Penn was led by Tony Hicks‘ 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Darien Nelson-Henry had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Darnell Foreman chipped in 9 points. The Quakers hit 21 of 45 from the field (46.7%) and made 5 of 14 three pointers (35.7%). They made 1o of 15 free throws (66.7%), out-rebounded Navy 36-31, had 16 assists, and committed 16 turnovers.
Navy had no scorers in double digits. Zach Fong and Edward Alade both finished with 8 points. Navy went 18 of 53 from the field (34%) and hit 5 of 23 three pointers (31.7%). They went 5 of 13 from the free throw line (38.5%) and committed 14 turnovers.
Penn (1-5) finally won their first game after starting the season with 5 losses. They travel to face Binghamton (1-7) 0n Saturday. Navy (2-6) faces their first of back-to-back Military institutions in the Citadel (3-4) on Saturday. Navy faces VMI on Tuesday.
Dartmouth Loses Close Battle For Second Straight Game
This is not a trend Dartmouth wants to see. For the second time in as many games, Dartmouth has lost a close match. On Sunday, it was New Hampshire and Wednesday it was Longwood. Longwood’s Quincy Taylor accounted for nearly 50% of his teams points (34) in their 74-73 win over Dartmouth.
Longwood quickly got out to a 10-1 lead, but Dartmouth erased that deficit and then some by the second TV timeout. They went on a 15-0 run to lead 16-10. The lead was cut to as little as three pointers, but the Big Green used a strong 11-6 run to lead 42-31 at the break.
The second half began remarkably similar to the first half. Longwood went on a 9-3 run to start the half and trailed 45-10 at the first TV timeout. Despite the solid start, Dartmouth built the lead back up to 63-54. In a three minute span, Longwood cut the deficit back down to one at 64-63 with 4 minutes left in the game. Longwood even trailed 73-66 with a minute left, but then the wheels fell off for Dartmouth.
The comeback would be done unconventionally for a team down by 7 points. The Lancers hit 6 free throws and and a layup to pull the stunning comeback. Quincy Taylor hit two free throws with 6 seconds left and Alex Mitola could not hit his shot to save the Big Green.
Miles Wright led Dartmouth off the bench with 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Malik Gill had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists while Connor Boehm had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Alex Mitola scored 10 points. The Big Green shot 27 of 48 from the field (56.3%) and hit 8 of 18 three pointers (44.4%). They went 11 of 19 free throws (57.9%), had 16 assists, and committed 11 turnovers. Dartmouth out-rebounded Longwood 28-24.
Quincy Taylor had 34 points on 13 of 18 shooting including making 5 of 7 three pointers. Shaquille Johnson contributed a solid 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Lancers went 23 of 45 from the field (51.1%) and hit 9 of 21 three pointers (42.9%). They went 19 of 24 from the free throw line (79.2%) and committed only 9 turnovers.
Dartmouth (1-4) will play their next game at home on Saturday against Maine (1-5). Longwood (3-5) faces Tennessee-Martin (4-2) on the road on Saturday.
Harvard Breezes Past Northeastern
Wesley Saunders played an excellent all around game to lead Harvard past Northeastern 60-46.
Harvard blitzed the Huskies in the first half with a 10-0 run to start the game. Kenyatta Smith scored the last six points of the run. Northeastern scored the next four points, but Harvard was in control until late in the half. The Crimson led 23-12 with 4:17 to play before a 10-4 run by Northeastern to end the half. Harvard led 27-22 at the break.
Northeastern was led by 9 points in the first half from Scott Eatherton. The Huskies shot 36% from the field in the first half and missed both of their three pointers. The Huskies crushed Harvard on the glass 17 to 9 and committed 7 turnovers. Agunwa Okolle led the Crimson with 6 points on 3 of 3 shooting. The Crimson shot 52.4% from the field and hit 2 of 4 three pointers. The Crimson committed 6 turnovers.
Northeastern hit an early three pointer to cut the lead to 27-25 and it was 31-28 Harvard before the Crimson ripped of a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 9. The Huskies continued to keep it close until midway through the half, but Harvard took over from there. At 44-38 with 9:24 left to play, Harvard went on a 16-8 run to end the game.
Scott Eatherton led Northeastern in the second half as well with 7 points and 4 rebounds. The Huskies shot 30.8% and hit 2 of 8 three pointers (25%). They also committed 7 turnovers. Wesley Saunders had 12 points for Harvard on 4 of 7 shooting. The Crimson shot 52% in the second half and missed all 3 three pointers. They committed only 4 second half turnovers.
Scott Eatherton led Northeastern with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Reggie Spencer also had a decent game with 10 points and 8 rebounds. The Huskies hit 17 of 51 shots from the field (33.3%) and made only 2 of 10 three pointers (20%). They went 10 of 17 on free throws (58.8%), out-rebounded Harvard 35-24, and committed 14 turnovers.
Harvard was led by Wesley Saunders’ 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals. Siyani Chambers scored 11 points and had 7 assists. The Crimson shot 24 of 46 from the field (52.2%) and hit 2 of 7 three pointers (28.6%). They went 10 of 13 from the charity stripe (76.9%), had 15 assists, had 8 steals, blocked 6 shots, and committed 10 turnovers.
Northeastern (5-2) faces Western Michigan (5-2) at home on Saturday. Harvard (5-1) is on a four game winning streak and puts that on the line at Vermont (4-3) on Saturday.
Yale Gets Past Bryant On The Road
Yale had four players in double figures, as they went on the road to defeat Bryant 67-60. Dyami Starks scored 23 points for Bryant in the loss.
Yale led by as much as 8 points at 18-10, but Bryant went on a 15-6 run to capture the lead at 25-24. Yale regained the lead 20 seconds later and held on to it at the break with a score line of 33-28.
In the second half, Yale got out to a quick start. The trio of Javier Duren, Justin Sears, and Matt Townsend scored the first 18 points for the Yale, as they took control of the game at 51-37. Dyami Starks did his best to keep Bryant in the game, but the aforementioned trio of Duren, Sears, and Townsend were able to keep Bryant at bay and hold on for the 67-60 win.
For the game, Javier Duren and Justin Sears both finished with 15 points. Sears grabbed 7 rebounds while Duren had 5 boards and 7 assists. Matt Townsend and Jack Montague both had 11 points. Townsend grabbed 5 boards. Yale went 23 of 50 from the field (46%) and hit 5 of 16 three pointers (31.2%). They hit 16 of 26 free throws (61.5%), out-rebounded Bryant 38 to 28, had 15 assists, and committed 10 turnovers.
Dyami Starks led Bryant with 23 points on 8 of 12 shooting, but was on fire from the perimeter. He hit 5 of his 8 three pointers. Zach Chionuma finished with 11 points. Bryant went 23 of 55 from the field (41.8%) and hit 10 of 25 three pointers (40%). They went to the line only 6 times and made 4 of those (66.7%) and committed 12 turnovers.
Yale (7-2) has a quick turnaround with a Friday night game against Connecticut (3-2) on the road. Bryant (1-4) travels to face another Ivy League opponent on Saturday in Brown (3-6).
Fairleigh Dickinson Uses 64 Point Second Half To Get By Princeton
Fairleigh Dickinson had two players score 22 points our more to outscore Princeton 89-85 in a shootout.
The first half was modest compared to what was in store for the second half. FDU led 10-6 before a 10-0 Princeton run gave them a 16-10 lead. FDU cut the lead to one point at 24-23, but a 9-2 run to end the half gave Princeton a 33-25 lead at the break.
Princeton maintained their advantage early in the second half. They led 53-43, but FDU went on a 9-0 run to cut it to one point. Shortly after that, FDU took the advantage and soon found themselves up by 11 points at 68-57 with 4:26 left to play. The margin was still 7 points at 79-72 with 55 seconds left to play. FDU went 12 for 12 in the final 55 seconds to hold on for the 89-85 victory.
Princeton had 5 players end up in double figures. Hans Brase had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds as well as 5 assists. Spencer Weisz had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Clay Wilson scored 15 points, Amir Bell had 12 points and 5 assists, and Steven Cook scored 11 points. The Tigers went 26 of 50 from the field (52%) and hit 13 of 28 three pointers (46.4%). They went 20 of 30 from the charity stripe (66.7%), out-rebounded FDU 32-29, had 17 assists, and committed 11 turnovers.
Fairleigh Dickinson was led by 29 points and 8 rebounds from Matt MacDonald on 8 of 12 shooting and 10 of 11 free throws. Mustafaa Jones had 22 points on 4 of 8 shooting and 11 of 12 free throws. Darian Anderson scored 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Earl Potts Jr. chipped in with 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting and was 2 of 2 from the perimeter. The Knights went 24 of 47 from the field (51.1%) and made 10 of 22 three pointers (45.5%). They hit 31 of their 41 free throws (75.6%), had 9 steals, and committed 9 turnovers.
Princeton (2-6) faces Stony Brook (5-3) at home on Saturday. Fairleigh Dickinson (3-3) travels on Saturday to face Notre Dame (7-1).