By the end of the first half, Yale probably realized that the Penn team they faced Saturday night would not give them the same low-scoring affair they had in January.
After all, Penn’s 45 points before halftime nearly matched their total offensive output when they traveled to New Haven last month — a scanty 48 points.
The Quakers would carry this momentum to the end of the night. Their 81-69 win over the Bulldogs was the team’s highest point total since its Jan. 6 victory at Maryland-Baltimore County.
Though scoreless for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game, the Quakers (5-18, 4-5 Ivy) shot 54.8 percent from the field in the first half and led 45-37 at intermission.
The Red and Blue pulled away from the Bulldogs (10-17, 4-6) with a 12-0 run midway through the second period.
Penn coach Jerome Allen was able to pull his starters in the final minute with a 16-point lead.
Was this the same Quakers team as the one that lost by 13 points against the Bulldogs just three weeks ago?
“Nope. They made shots,” Yale coach James Jones said.
A solid scoring effort indeed made the difference for Penn. And while Quakers’ junior Dan Monckton rocked the rim on a baseline dunk to open the second half, he and his teammates weren’t just cashing in on the high-percentage points.
The Penn big men used sound post moves and a soft touch to finish off a number of mid-range jumpers. Forwards Monckton and Jack Eggleston notched 18 and 13 points, respectively, while grabbing a combined 22 rebounds against a Yale frontcourt that looked as if it might take over in the early-going.
Sophomore center Mike Howlett also had six points in eight minutes on an efficient 3-3 shooting night.
The Quakers made six of their 11 three-point attempts in the second period, all of which came consecutively.
“We went to a zone, and they made a couple threes in the zone, and then they made threes out of the zone,” Jones said. “When you can make six threes in a row, that’s going to change things.”
Transition play was also a high point for the Red and Blue, who emphasized quick outlet passes and getting behind the Yale defense for easier drives to the bucket.
“We’re trying to get some easy stuff as opposed to playing in the half-court all the time,” said sophomore guard Zack Rosen, who led all scorers with 27 points. “On the defensive end, if we get stops we’re going to try to reward ourselves and try to get something easy going down the other way.”
Even Yale’s full-court press couldn’t rattle the Quakers.
Penn had 14 turnovers to the Bulldogs’ 11, but the Red and Blue passed well under pressure to avoid losing composure amid all the traps.
Yale senior guard, Alex Zampier, dropped 21 points, but it wasn’t enough for a Yale squad that seemed out of its element much of the game.
The Bulldogs looked worn down, with players slouching their shoulders and arguing among themselves after at least one play. In addition, forward Michael Sands received a late-game technical foul for mouthing off to a referee.
“Guys are competitive and they want to win,” Jones said. “I think it’s healthy that guys have communication with each other.”
“We’re not always going to be nice-nice,” he added. “We’re not the nice-nice kids.”
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