Yale Tops Illinois-Chicago In Men Against Breast Cancer Classic
Justin Sears scored 16 points while Javier Duren added 15 to lead Yale to a 70-58 victory over Illinois-Chicago.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first half with both teams at or above 50%. Sears led the way in the first half going 6 of 9 for 13 points with Duren adding in 8 points on 3 of 4 shooting. UIC was led by Jake Wiegand with 7 points, but were undone by 10 first half turnovers. The Flames went 10 of 20 in the first half, 1 of 4 on three pointers, and 5 of 6 on their free throw attempts (83.3%). Yale was even more efficient at 16 of 28 from the field (57.1%) including an excellent 6 of 10 on three pointers. Yale led 40-26 at the break.
The second half was not nearly as exciting as the first with both teams struggling to hit their shots. UIC went 13 of 31 from the field (41.9%), but improved on three pointers going 4 of 9 (44.4%). Marc Brown had 7 points in the second half to lead UIC, but the Flames also had 6 points each from Gabe Snider, Markese McGuire, and Paris Burns. Yale saw their shooting percentage cut nearly in half with 7 of 24 shooting (29.2%) in the final 20 minutes. The Bulldogs hit 3 of 10 three pointers, but had their biggest advantage on the boards with a 22-14 edge over UIC. Duren had 7 points in the second half to lead the Bulldogs.
Not a single UIC player scored in double digits. Three players – Jake Wiegand, Paris Burns, and Marc Brown – had 9 points. Markese McGuire scored 8 points with Gabe Snider and Ahman Fells chipping in 8. For the game, UIC went 23 of 51 from the field (45.1%), 5 of 13 on three pointers (38.5%), and 7 of 9 from the free throw line (77.8%). The Flames had 15 turnovers against Yale.
Yale ultimately ended up with four players in double figures. Sears had 16 points and 6 rebounds, Duren scored 15 points and grabbed 8 boards, Armani Cotton had 11 points and 5 boards, and Jack Montague contributed with 10 points. The Bulldogs shot 23 of 52 for the game (44.2%) and were led by their three point shooting in which they went 9 of 20 (45%). They also knocked down 15 of 18 free throws (83.3%), out-rebounded UIC 33-26, and committed 12 turnovers.
Illinois-Chicago (1-2) plays again on Saturday against Kent State (3-0) in the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic. Yale (2-1) will take on Southern Illinois (1-2) in the same tournament on Saturday.
Cornell Loses Heartbreaker To Penn State On Layup
Despite an excellent free throw shooting performance, Cornell’s 13th turnover proved their undoing with as D.J. Newbill made a layup as time expired to give Penn State a 72-71 victory. The Big Red went 21 of 22 from the free throw line, but Newbill’s 26 points led Penn State to a big comeback win. The Nittany Lions erased a 17 point deficit on Thursday night against Charlotte, but lost in double-overtime.
The first half was full of runs. After the half started 6-6, the Big Red went on an 11-1 run thanks to two three pointers. That lead would not last with Penn State coming back on a 9-0 run of their own to make it 17-16 in favor of Cornell. However, the Big Red went on another run of 12-2 to take a 29-18 lead with 7 minutes left to go in the half. The end of the half was pretty even with Cornell taking a 37-28 lead after an athletic drive from Devin Cherry in the waning seconds.
Penn State’s D.J. Newbill led all scorers with 15 first half points on 4 of 8 shooting, but he hit all three of his three pointers. As a team, the Nittany Lions went 9 of 29 from the field in the first half (31%). They went 3 of 12 on three pointers (25% with all 3 of those from Newbill), and were 7 of 9 on free throws (77.8%). Cornell was led by Robert Hatter’s 9 points with all of those coming from three pointers and also Cherry scoring 9 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. Dave LaMore added in 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. The Big Red went 13 of 30 from the field (43.3%) and were 5 of 11 from beyond the arc (45.5%). Cornell hit all six of their free throws, and committed just 4 turnovers to Penn State’s 7. The Big Red were out-rebounded 21-17 in the first 20 minutes.
The second half began with Penn State quickly reversing an 11 point deficit into just one point. The Nittany Lions went on a 9-2 run to make the Cornell lead just 41-40. Cornell built the lead back up to 11 points thanks to 3 three pointers and three free throws. However, Penn State would not go away. A 6-0 spurt allowed them to cut the deficit to 57-55. From there, it was a back and forth affair between the two teams before a massive sequence of events nearly turned the game on its head.
Tied at 63, Cherry made an errant pass that was picked up by Newbill. He went up for a layup, but David Onuorah blocked the ball with Cherry getting the ball back. He immediately attacked the rim and drew the foul while still getting his shot to fall. Cherry missed the free throw, but Cornell held a 65-63 lead. The Big Red continued to hit their free throws and held a 71-67 lead until John Johnson hit a three pointer to make it 71-70. On the ensuing in bounds play with 4.8 seconds left, Shonn Miller’s pass was to no one in particular with Penn State’s Shep Garner corralling the ball. He passed it Newbill in the corner and Newbill drove down the baseline and put the ball up for a game-winning layup.
Newbill led the Nittany Lions with 26 points on 9 of 16 shooting (4 of 5 from three point land) and also grabbed 6 rebounds. John Johnson added in 17 points with Shep Garner scoring 10 points. Ross Travis had only 4 points, but grabbed a game high 9 rebounds. Penn State went 26 of 57 for the game (45.6%), were 7 of 21 from beyond the arc (33.3%), and hit 13 of 17 free throws (76.5%). The Nittany Lions committed 12 turnovers and out-rebounded Cornell 37-28.
Cornell’s stellar free throw shooting (21 of 22) went to waste. Both Robert Hatter and Galal Cancer scored 17 points apiece. Shonn Miller scored 15 and Devin Cherry provided 11 points and 7 boards. The Big Red finished 21 of 52 from the field (40.4%), hit 8 of 21 three pointers (38.1%), and committed 13 turnovers.
Penn State (3-1) will face USC (2-2) on Sunday afternoon. Cornell (2-3) has to find a way to forget this brutal loss and pick up a win against Drexel (0-4) on Sunday.