I'd like to extend a warm welcome to all of our loyal Buzz readers from the Palestra. It's David Bernstein here for tonight's contest between the Quakers and the Yale Bulldogs. It's not a great day to be a Red and Blue hoops fan--and an even worse one to be a Penn fan at the Palestra. The Quakers haven't won an Ivy contest at home yet (4-5 overall), but will look to push themselves back up to .500 in conference play tonight. They fought Yale to a narrow victory up at John J. Lee Amphitheater in Connecticut, and we'll see if Penn can notch its first season sweep of the year.
FINAL Yale 87, Penn 79
Gaines hits a three-pointer, and it's Andrews to the line yet again. He bricks the first and bounces the second one home. Gaines' next three gets nothing but backboard. Call it.
Penn has not yet won at home in the Ivy slate, and it's five games in. Do I need to say any more than that?
:29.8 Second Half; Penn 76 Yale 84
It's Andrews to the line after another foul on the in-bounds. He clanks the first, but makes the second. Belcore can't hit a three, and Rosen is called for another foul. Zampier is at the line, and he will convert on both FTs.
:38.5 Second Half; Penn 76 Yale 83
Pinick's free throw is followed by another Gaines lay-up, which is in turn followed by a timeout by Miller.
The NCAA has officially deemed this the slowest and most boring game in the history of college athletics, and indeed, mankind.
Just kidding. But not really.
1:02 Second Half; Penn 74 Yale 82
Rosen finds Belcore open underneath, and Morin's foul will send him to the showers. Belcore hit the basket and the free throw. Yet another foul is called on Penn during the in-bounds, this time it's on Rosen. Chris Andrews will head to the line, where he can only hit one.
1:12 Second Half; Penn 71 Yale 80
Penn's press looks about as tough as the tortilla warmer at Chipotle--it's not doing any real damage at all. Zampier finds his way to the hoop after driving coast-to-coast, converting the ensuing free throw as well. Gaines responds with a take, but it might be too late for the Quakers to stage any sort of a comeback.
2:01 Second Half; Penn 66 Yale 77
Morin finds himself all alone after Eggleston's missed FT, and extends Yale's lead yet again. Gaines was fouled taking it to the hoop on the other end, and he knocked down just one of two. Pinick was fouled on the rebound. Sheesh. He air-balled the first one, and the hit the second.
2:26 Second Half; Penn 65 Yale 74
Bernardini hesitates on a pretty good look from three, instead dishing to Rob Belcore, who can't pick it up. Zampier drains a trey after the turnover, and the Quakers are in dire need of a spark, and quick.
Eggleston will head to the line after he is fouled by Morin under the hoop. He hits just one.
3:27 Second Half; Penn 64 Yale 72
More of the same here: Fouls, fouls, fouls. And for the Quakers at the stripe, bricks, bricks, bricks. Lewis misses two more, while Yale's Zampier responds by making one of two.
4:07 Second Half; Penn 64 Yale 71
It's a battle of the charity stripe now. Braswell hit one of two, and Cam Lewis did the same. Penn is going to the press every time out now.
4:41 Second Half; Penn 63 Yale 70
A baseline drive by Egee, followed by a nice sequence by Gaines, cut the lead to six. Gaines hit his first free throw, and came up with the loose ball after missing the second, converting a floater in the lane. Yale answered by beating Penn's full-court press for a transition basket, but Egee was subsequently sent to the line--where he made one of two.
5:49 Second Half; Penn 57 Yale 68
Bernardini is called for his fourth in transition ("A good call" says Mr. Campo), and Jordan Gibson sinks the bucket and the free throw. The momentum is back to Yale.
6:52 Second Half; Penn 57 Yale 63
As he has been known to, Gaines gives Penn some fire out of the break. He made a nice take right at the rim, and then broke the defender's ankles en route to a banked lay-in. Coach Jones calls for time.
7:56 Second Half; Penn 53 Yale 63
A pretty uneventful minute as we're taken to a media timeout. During the break, a strapping blond fellow (the P.A. announcer tells me that his name is Adam Magee) takes the Chili's Free Throw Challenge. Godspeed, young man.
8:45 Second Half; Penn 53 Yale 63
It's a very tightly-called second half here, just as it was the last time these two teams met. There's a lot of cycling in and out on the Yale bench, as they've already committed 11 fouls in the frame. Another Bulldogs bucket pushes their lead to double digits, and causes Miller to call for time.
10:00 Second Half; Penn 53 Yale 59
There's the Tyler we know and love. Bernardini just hit a long baseline jumper as he was fouled (perhaps questionably, judging by the scribbling I'm seeing nearby), but he can't hit the free throw.
A Votel foul sends Lewis back into the game and Zampier to the line, and the Bulldog connects on them both.
11:22 Second Half; Penn 51 Yale 55
As the Bulldogs bench is livid over a non-called kicked-ball (save that five times fast), my neighbor Bill Campo explains that it isn't a kick if the player's foot is on the floor. It was Rosen's footwork that led to the steal and Votel free throws.
Morin answered to extend the Yale lead to four, and the Bulldogs will have the ball when we return from the media break.
12:59 Second Half; Penn 48 Yale 53
Reilly is not looking so hot right now. After committing a turnover that led to a Yale score, he lost his man in the paint, leading to another bucket. Glen Miller just called a timeout, and it's doubtful we see Reilly back on the floor after the break.
13:39 Second Half; Penn 48 Yale 49
Eggleston wound up hitting both free throws. After a long Bernardini jumper, Penn came out in a two-three zone--it will be interesting to see if we see that again. Meanwhile, Lewis is called for his third foul, and is pulled in favor of Reilly. Miller doesn't look happy--a Zampier jumper won't make him any happier.
15:38 Second Half; Penn 44 Yale 43
Gaines flicks a beautiful no-look dish to Eggleston under the hoop, but he can't hit the basket as he is fouled. He will head to the line for two shots after the media timeout.
16:20 Second Half; Penn 44 Yale 43
A defensive lapse by Pinick allows Bernardini to get an easy lane to the hoop for a layup and the foul--the sophomore hit the free throw to put the Quakers on top.
16:45 Second Half; Penn 41 Yale 43
Ross Morin opens the Bulldogs' second-half scoring, and then an intentional foul on Bernardini is called after he blocks the path of Travis Pinick. But Pinick doesn't go to the line at first--a FT by Zampier is waved off after the zebras realize it was the wrong shooter.
Cam Lewis' lay-in near the basket ties the game back up, but Yale goes back on top after a strong bucket by Morin.
Halftime Stats
Ross Morin: 12 points, 4 rebounds
Harrison Gaines: 9 points, one assist
Yale FT%: 41.7% (5-12)
HALFTIME; Penn 37 Yale 36
Braswell is sent to the line after an Egee reach-in, but he can't connect on either free throw. Meanwhile, the Quakers offense is still sputtering, with Bernardini forcing up a shot with about half a minute to go. Travis Pinick lays one in to end the half, and to cut the Bulldogs' deficit to one.
Stats will be here as we get them.
2:00 First Half; Penn 37 Yale 34
On a pair of one-and-ones, Cam Lewis hits three free throws--that should be good for the confidence of a guy who usually struggles from the charity stripe.
A Ross Morin up-and-under spurs Miller to call for time--Reilly and Votel have really struggled down low (on both ends) so far, but he leaves them both in.
3:31 First Half; Penn 34 Yale 28
After Eggleston fouls Yale's Ross Morin (who would miss both free throws), Penn coach Glen Miller sends in junior forward Justin Reilly, who fed Cam Lewis for a layup on his first possession. Morin, however, answered with a trifecta shortly after.
4:44 First Half; Penn 32 Yale 25
The Bulldogs are really hounding (pun intended) Tyler Bernardini. Jordan Gibson is guarding him, and after the two fell hard to the floor as Rosen brought the ball up, Bernardini was forced to travel after some really physical defense. They looked like fouls to me, but what do I know.
Gibson just fouled Eggleston on the baseline after an in-bounds pass, and the Quaker forward hits both.
7:43 First Half; Penn 28 Yale 18
Sparkplug much? After a whole lot of nothing on a Quakers' offensive possession, Gaines makes something out of nothing andconverts a loose ball (after he lost control) into a bucket off the backboard (he missed the free throw after being fouled). Gaines followed that up with a short jumper in transition, and then a baseline jumper.
The whole sequence has Yale coach James Jones a little bit irked, but Alex Zampier did drill a three-pointer to quell the Penn rally.
11:44 First Half; Penn 20 Yale 11
Yale's Porter Braswell and Harrison Gaines trade threes, and reserve forwards Conor Turley and Rob Belcore convert on a nice backdoor cut (with Belcore scoring the bucket). Moments after, Belcore is called for a foul, and the Bulldogs will have a pair of free throws waiting for them after the media timeout.
A sidenote: I'm sitting next to Bill Campo, who is observing tonight's officiating for the NCAA. He's scribbled a few notes already, but he told me tonight's crew--like most Friday night crews--is solid, because few other leagues in the NCAA plays on Fridays. He's a former ref himself, and he knows the ins and outs of the unspoken officiating code: For example, after the ball clearly went off a Yale player, he didn't mark the ref down because, otherwise, it would have meant a cheap foul called on Cam Lewis. But Campo doesn't overestimate the sway he has: When I asked him if he held the lives of the three refs in his hands, he responded with a chuckle and a definitive "No."
16:16 First Half; Penn 13 Yale 4
Ross Morin hits jumpers on Yale's first two possesstions, and Tyler Bernardini responds with two three-pointers. Zack Rosen followed those up with a nifty dish in transition to Jack Eggleston, who finished strong.
A trey by Kevin Egee pushed the lead to seven, but it was Zack Rosen's steal and layup that has pushed the Penn lead to nine.
Tonight's Starting Lineups
Yale:F Ross Morin, F Travis Pinick, F Garrett Fiddler, G Chris Andrews, G Alex Zampier
Penn: F Jack Eggleston, F Cam Lewis, G Zack Rosen, G Tyler Bernardini, G Kevin Egee
Tags: basketball, Game Updates
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February 27th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
How does Glenn Miller still have a job.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
This is preposterous. Punch me in the face.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Has any player on this team gotten better this season? No. Has the team's offense or defense gotten better? No. Is Bernardini the brattiest, most childish player in college today? Yes.
February 28th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Jerry, I have to object to your comment. First off, this blog is no place for that kind of talk. And second, in my admittedly limited conversations with Tyler Bernardini, and my observations of him, he has struck me as respectful and kind. Yes, he's emotional on the court, but I don't think he's every taken a cheap shot at another player or done anything particularly offensive. There are a lot of college players you couldn't say that about.
March 1st, 2009 at 12:53 am
First, Andrew, this blog is no place for most of the stuff you post half the time, so it's nice to see people with thoughts on Penn basketball.
Second, I really like Tyler. If I could have any player off this team to build around it would absolutely by Tyler. But the second half of this year he has had a bad attitude. I'm inclined to say this is because Miller is always in yelling at him. He needs some encouragement.
March 1st, 2009 at 9:28 am
I would love to be wrong about Bernardini, and the idea that I would criticize a 20 year old who is busting his ass to represent my school is appalling to me. In my section of the Palestra, though, we often comment about his frequent "payback" fouls on players who just made good plays against him and about his constant jawing with referees. For now, I'll apologize for my comments about him and hope that this talented and--according to you--respectful and kind young man can overcome his obvious anger and frustration.
March 1st, 2009 at 10:47 am
Of course Bernardini's angry and frustrated. He was rookie of the year last year but is being coached by a guy who thinks it's okay to humiliate him at the Palestra. Glen Miller is like an evil high school coach who is so dumb he thinks tough love will improve the teams's record. You know, the kind of guy we thought we all left behind when we came to Philadelphia and Penn. Somehow Miller has gotten by without anyone's noticing that he was completely out of place at Penn. Bilsky- who should know better- appears to have dropped the ball very badly here.
April 15th, 2009 at 10:36 am
The topic is quite hot in the net right now. What do you pay the most attention to when choosing what to write about?