MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAYS


COLUMBIA AT YALE

Where: Lee Amphitheater

When: 7 p.m.

Video: yalebulldogs.com

Records: Columbia (10-10 2-4 Ivy); Yale (9-14, 3-3)

What to look for

Scouting Columbia: The Lions who played at Brown on Friday snapped a four-game losing streak and handed Harvard its first Ivy League loss of the season last weekend. Steve Frankoski’s 27 points paced the Lions’ attack. Columbia shot over 50 percent from the floor and 9-of-17 from 3-point range. The Lions average just 10.1 turnovers per game, which is the fifth fewest in the nation. Brian Barbour (13.0 ppg.) leads the team in scoring, while Mark Cisco (5.9 rpg.) is the top rebounder. Columbia has five players averaging at least 9.8 points per game.

Scouting Yale: The Bulldogs have won seven straight against the Lions, four of them at home but they still trail the all-time series 122-110. The teams have met at least once every year since 1902, which ties the series with Yale-Princeton as the oldest continuous series in Division I. Freshman Justin Sears returned to the Yale lineup last weekend helping the Bulldogs to a sweep of Penn and Princeton. Sears leads the team in rebounding and ranks second in the Ivy League in the department.

-- Bill Cloutier

Yale blew a 15-point lead but managed to make all the plays down the stretch to knock off Columbia on Friday night.
The victory keeps Yale in a tie with Penn for second place in the Ivy League. Harvard survived a scare from Princeton on Friday and is about to close out the Bulldogs.
Penn faces Harvard on Saturday night in a huge showdown. If Harvard wins they'll clinch at least a share of the title and Yale could move into second place all alone in the standings.

Here are some highlights from Friday's win:

COLUMBIA AT YALE
When: Today at 7 p.m.
Where: Lee Amphitheater, New Haven
Records: Columbia (14-12, 3-7 Ivy League); Yale (17-7, 7-3 Ivy)
TV: YES
Scouting Yale: The Bulldogs are 9-1 at home and sit in third place in the Ivy League after losing at Harvard last weekend. Yale rallied from 21 points down in the second half to defeat Columbia two weeks ago for its sixth straight win in the series. Reggie Willhite had 24 points and seven steals in the game to lead the comeback and also hit the game-winning shot. Yale trails Penn by a half-game for second place in the Ivy League and the Quakers play at Harvard on Saturday.
Scouting Columbia: The Lions dropped a 61-59 decision in overtime last time out at Penn. Meiko Lyles led Columbia with 17 points in the game. Columbia has lost three straight games and six of its seven losses in the league losses have been by five points or fewer. The Lions are 25th in the nation and first in the Ivy in scoring defense allowing just over 60 ppg.
Probable starters
Yale
Name, Ht, Year, Pos, Ppg.
Jeremiah Kreisberg, 6-10, So., F, 7.9
Greg Mangano, 6-10, Sr, C, 18.4
Reggie Willhite, 6-4, Sr, F, 12.5
Austin Morgan, 5-10, Jr, G, 12.2
Michael Grace, 6-0, Jr., G, 5.9
Columbia
Alex Rosenberg, 6-7, Fr., F, 6.9
John Daniels, 6-8, Jr., F, 2.9
Mark Cisco, 6-9, Jr., C, 9.8
Brian Barbour, 6-1, Jr., G, 15.2
Meiko Lyles, 6-3, So., G, 10.5

Off the bench: Yale: Brandon Sherrod, 6-6, Fr., F, 3.8; Jesse Pritchard,6-5, So., G, 1.6. Columbia: Blaise Staab, 6-5, Sr., F, 4.0; Chris Crockett, 5-10, Sr., G, 5.6.

Yale ralled from 21 points down to defeat Columbia on Saturday night. Coupled with Harvard's loss at Princeton, the Bulldogs trail the Crimson by a game in the Ivy League standings.
Here is Yale's game report from Columbia:

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Yale has made a habit of coming from behind throughout the season. The Bulldogs took it to a new level on Saturday.
Reggie Willhite's driving layup with 13 seconds left capped a memorable comeback and lifted Yale to a thrilling 59-58 victory over Columbia before a stunned crowd of 2,442 at Levien Gym.
The Bulldogs (16-6, 6-2 Ivy) trailed by 21 with 11:30 left in the second half.
Willhite finished with 24 points to pace Yale, who moved back within one game of first place Harvard. The Crimson lost to Princeton 70-62.
"Gritty is the only word I can use to describe it," said Willhite, who was 11-of-19 from the field and added five assists and seven steals. "We've shown a lot of resiliency all year. We've had a lot of close games and are battle tested."
Greg Mangano, who was in foul trouble for the second straight night, added 11 points for the Bulldogs. Austin Morgan and Jeremiah Kreisberg both had eight points.
Meiko Lyles led Columbia (14-10, 3-5 Ivy) with 17 points. Mark Cisco scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
It was a Cisco jumper that gave the Lions their biggest lead, 51-30. The advantage was still eight, 58-50, after Lyles hit a three-pointer with 4:20 remaining, but Columbia didn't score again.
Jesse Pritchard's three-pointer pulled the Bulldogs within one with 37 seconds left. Yale's press then forced a Columbia turnover, setting up Willhite's dramatic layup.
"I saw the help side defender turn his head so I just took my man and went to the basket," Willhite said.
Still, Columbia had a chance to win when Blaise Staab was fouled with three seconds remaining. Staab, though, missed both free throws and Mangano grabbed the defensive rebound.
The last second victory came one night after the Bulldogs suffered a heartbreaking 85-84 overtime loss at Cornell.
"Our guys really clamped down and came together," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men's Basketball. "It was an unbelievable comeback."
A number of players had a role in the victory. Pritchard's three-pointer was huge, and freshman Brandon Sherrod scored five points and grabbed six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
"It's the sign of a good team when you have several players making contributions," Jones said. "Greg was a little off, Austin was a little off but other guys stepped up."
Mangano picked up two early fouls, which limited him to only nine first-half minutes. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, Willhite picked up the slack. He was 6-of-9 from the field and had 14 of Yale's 23 first-half points.
"Reggie had a monster game," Jones said.
Yale trailed 30-23 at the intermission.
Morgan, despite shooting only 3-of-9 from the field, hit a number of big shots late, scoring all eight of his points in the last 8:30.
NOTES: The largest deficit the Bulldogs had overcome entering Saturday's game was 13, which they did twice – in wins over Sacred Heart and Rhode Island… The comeback was reminiscent of last year's home win over Cornell when the Bulldogs rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes... Yale has now won the last six meetings with the Lions… Columbia shot 55.8 percent from the field in the game but committed 19 turnovers… The Lions outrebounded Yale 29-27… The Bulldogs are back on the road next weekend – at Dartmouth on Friday and at Harvard on Saturday. Both games begin at 7 p.m.