DARTMOUTH AT YALE


Where: Lee Amphitheater
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Video: yalebulldogs.com
Records: Dartmouth (6-16, 2-6 Ivy); Yale (10-15, 4-4)

What to look for
Scouting Dartmouth: The Big Green sit in a tie for last in the Ivy League but are dangerous. Dartmouth has 13 freshmen or sophomores on the roster and led Harvard in the second half in their two meetings earlier in the season but lost them both. They also beat Yale in their only meeting. Gabas Maldunas (10.7 ppg.) and Alex Mitola (10.1 ppg.) lead the team in scoring. Paul Cormier is now in the third season of his second stint as the head coach of the Big Green. He also guided Dartmouth from 1984 to 1991.

Scouting Yale: The Bulldogs have won 13 straight games against the Big Green at home but can't afford past tonight's opponent with rival Harvard on deck Saturday. Yale dropped its first meeting to Dartmouth earlier in the season 71-62. Gabas Maldunas was 8-of-10 from the field and finished with 16 points to lead Dartmouth to a victory on Feb. 2. Yale got a career-high 16 points from Matt Townsend, but shot just 35 percent from the field. Austin Morgan added 20 points for the Bulldogs. The Big Green was 19-of-20 from the foul line in the second half and shot 51.1 percent from the field for the game.

-- Bill Cloutier

NEW HAVEN – Last weekend is already a blur to Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones. His Bulldogs lost an overtime heart-breaker at Cornell and then rallied from 21 points down in the second half to defeat Columbia.
The weekend split left Yale (16-6, 6-2 Ivy League) in exactly the same place it was before it started,in second place and a game behind Harvard in the Ivy League standings. Yale visits Dartmouth (4-20, 0-8) on Friday night before playing at the Crimson (21-3, 7-1) on Saturday at Cambridge, Mass., in another crucial weekend of league play.
“The entire weekend is a complete blur,” Jones said of last week’s split. “You think about playing those games so close together. A four-hour bus ride. We got little sleep and the fact that you play overtime one night and then play the next night.
“We didn’t even get a chance to digest the Cornell game (an 85-84 loss) fully and they’re throwing the ball up for another game. I’m not sure what to take from the comeback in the Columbia game but I know that this team is resilient and they never give up.”
Yale forward Reggie Willhite took over the game against the Lions scoring 24 points including the game-winner in the 59-58 victory. Jones said it might have been the best game he’s ever played at Yale.
“He did what he was capable of doing,” Jones said. “There are very few people in the league that can stay in front of him. We were able to isolate him a little and he was able to do some stuff on his own.”
Said Willhite: “A lot of people were probably writing the season off during the Columbia game. It shows your true colors when your back is against the wall. The loss to Cornell definitely stung. Being down 21 points and staring the end of the season in your face, we had to find something that worked. We played our hearts and were able to get back into it.”
Yale defeated Dartmouth 62-52 getting a game-high 16 points from Willhite. They’re certainly not looking past the Big Green tonight.
“You do exactly what you’ve always done to prepare,” Jones said. “Last week we spent a lot more time on Cornell because they play differently than any other team in the league. This week we spent as much time working on ourselves as we did Harvard or Dartmouth.
“Dartmouth is always tough, especially up there. They’ve played everybody tough. Last week Penn’s Zach Rosen had to bury a 3-pointer from over 30 feet away to beat them. They’re dangerous. We’re very good inside and if we go in there we have a distinct advantage.”
Should the Bulldogs beat Dartmouth it has a short turnaround to get ready for nationally-ranked Harvard.
“It’s the curse of the Ivy League,” Willhite said. “Playing back-to-back nights is always tough but it’s even tougher when you have a huge rivalry game on the second night.”
Yale was embarrassed by Harvard 65-35 earlier in the season. The Bulldogs were never in the contest but Jones feels that his team can truly compete with the Crimson.
“Even in that game, Harvard only scored 65 points,” he said. “So our defense wasn’t that bad, we just couldn’t make a basket.”
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CHESHIRE — The tumultuous child sex abuse scandal that erupted this past fall involving former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky eventually led to the firing of longtime Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
In its wake, several top recruits backed out of their commitments to Happy Valley. Newington’s Malik Golden wavered but in the end still felt it was the place for him.
Golden was one of four Cheshire Academy football players to sign letters of intent on Wednesday. Mike Villapiano signed a letter of intent to attend Brown, A.J. Zuttah signed to go to Dartmouth and Connor Caponegro signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Rhode Island. Coach Dan O’Dea led the Cats to an undefeated season and the New England Prep School Class B championship.
“You can’t pick a school solely because of the coach,” Golden said. “On any given day he can leave any ways. We lost some four and five-star recruits but we’ve still got a lot of talent coming in.
“When I went to Penn State, I saw the guys hanging out together. You could tell it was a family there. That’s what I want. I also wanted to be closer to home. That’s why I came to Cheshire Academy. My mother developed cancer and I wanted to be close to her.”
Golden never imagined being caught up in the Penn State drama.
“It actually was weird,” Golden said. “(Penn State assistant coach Kermit Buggs) came to see me play on Senior Night. He left the game early and no one knew why. But the scandal broke out on that day and he had just heard about it. At halftime the guys asked me if I had heard what happened.
“I said, ‘What are you talking about?’”
Golden starred on both sides of the ball at Cheshire Academy. He will play wide receiver at Penn State but said there is still a chance he’ll see action at defensive back.
Golden grew fond of Paterno in his short relationship with the legendary coach who died on Jan. 22.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Paterno,” Golden said. “What he did at Penn State. He’s a genuine guy and I just think that he went out the wrong way. He still has my respect.”
Zuttah’s brother Jeremy currently plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even though he also has NFL aspirations he yearned for the academics of Ivy League.
"I think I'll be able to make an impact right away," Zuttah said. "I've been working hard the past couple of years. This year I've been with a personal trainer.
I think I'll make a smooth transition even to an Ivy League after being at Cheshire Academy the past two years. It's prepared me for what college life is going to be like."
Villapiano is the son of former Oakland Raider all-pro linebacker Phil Villapiano and will play quarterback at Brown.
"Their quarterback graduated so it will be an open competition and that's all you can ask for. This was a great year. I put on a lot of weight and I've gotten better. Cheshire Academy gave me a lot of benefits that I couldn't have succeeded without."
Villapiano was a big part of the Cats' offense that blew out most of the teams on its schedule this year.
"It was a killer season," he said. "We were clicking. We had so many good players it worked out and it was so much fun."
Villapiano said he got a late start on the recruiting process last year and that led to his decision to play at Cheshire.
"My dad always told me to just play and everything will work out. By the time people were recruiting me most of the scholarships were already taken. Coach O'Dea contacted and offered me a chance to play here and it opened more doors."
Caponegro expects to play H-back at Rhode Island. He is hitting machine according to O'Dea.
"I like my size," Caponegro said. "I feel like I'm where I want to be. Before I came to Cheshire Academy I only had offers as a walk-on. Now I've got a full ride and I'm excited.
"I've played fullback and linebacker and I don't care where I play. I got to run the ball a few times here. Before this I didn't get to touch it a lot and then I'm catching the ball and everything.
"It was great. I loved the coaching staff and campus at Rhode Island."

Bulldogs move to 6-5 in Ivy League

Cromwell freshman Isaiah Salafia had his best game as a collegian nailing a big 3-pointer in the extra session.



Yale needed overtime to defeat Dartmouth 79-75 on Friday night. With rival Harvard on tap Saturday, here's coach James Jones thoughts on the game:

On playing Harvard
"You've got the energy to go out and play after you get a win. Thye've got to get on a bus and drive over here so we're in good shape."

On the play of Porter Braswell:
"He's a bull. He made some good decisions down the stretch. Even the one, the last play in regulation when he tried to give Austin Morgan the shot. He's strong and he was able to finish.
"This is the best he's played in his career. He also made a big point of making others better. He had four assists. That's been really nice to see."

Inside the box score:
Greg Mangano had seven more blocks in Friday's game. He is adding to Yale single-season record with every block he gets. Mangano is up to 78 blocks for the season and is 12th in the nation in the department.

Looking ahead:
Yale hosts Harvard Saturday night at 6 p.m. It is the final home game for seniors Porter Braswell, Raffi Mantilla and Alfonso Costa.
It's also a huge game for the Crimson who lead the Ivy League by a half game.