Feb. 29, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Jack Eggleston scored 18 points and Tyler Bernardini added 16 as Penn earned a 70-63 Ivy League victory over Yale before a crowd of 1,876 at the John J. Lee Amphitheater and a YES Network television audience. Eggleston was 10-for-10 from the foul line and had five rebounds and four assists. Ross Morin and Caleb Holmes paced the Bulldogs with 16 points apiece.
The Quakers (11-16, 6-4 Ivy) led 50-32 with 11:50 left before Yale staged a ferocious comeback. Eric Flato's three-pointer cut the deficit to eight with 7:51 left, and when Holmes made two free throws with 2:41 remaining, the Bulldogs were within two, 60-58.
Eggleston, though, hit two free throws to push the lead back to four. After a Yale turnover, Bernardini scored on a layup. Flato's jumper cut it to four, but the Quakers made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
"We executed better in the second half," said Morin, who was 5 of 9 from the field and made all five of his free throws. "If we stick to our offense, we can get good shots, and we did that in the second half."
Yale (10-15, 4-7 Ivy) got some big contributions from its bench during the comeback. Jordan Gibson had four points and two rebounds in seven minutes, Nick Holmes scored six points, Michael Sands contributed two points and four rebounds, and Porter Braswell had two assists.
"The guys off the bench really gave us a lift," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men's Basketball. "They played hard."
Brian Grandieri finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Quakers. Harrison Gaines and Brennan Votel both had eight points.
Flato scored 13 points for the Bulldogs.
The score was tied at 10 after six minutes, but Penn went on a 19-4 run, capped by a Bernardini jumper. The Quakers built the lead to 39-21 at halftime. Penn shot 52.9 percent from the field and outrebounded Yale 21-11 in the first 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs play their final home game of the season on Saturday, hosting Princeton at 8 p.m. Seniors Flato, Matt Kyle and Nick and Caleb Holmes will be honored prior to tipoff.
Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity