Men’s basketball gamedays
YALE AT PRINCETON, PENN
Today at Jadwin Gymnasium, Princeton, N.J., 7 p.m.
Saturday at The Palestra, Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Records: Yale (19-7, 9-3 Ivy); Princeton (16-11, 7-4); Penn (17-11, 9-2)
Video: goprincetontigers.com; pennathletics.com
Scouting Yale: The final weekend of the season is full of possibilities for the Bulldogs. Yale could actually win the title outright if all things go its way. Yale trails Harvard by a game in the Ivy League. If the Bulldogs sweep the weekend series and Harvard loses its last two games (at Columbia and Cornell) Yale would win the league and become the first school in the nation to earn an NCAA berth. While all four results will be considered upsets the fact that the Bulldogs are still alive is testament to how well they’ve played this season. Yale finished the season 11-1 at home and is currently 8-6 on the road. The Bulldogs are trying for their first 20-win season since 2002.
Scouting Princeton: The Tigers are 37-6 all-time against the Bulldogs at Jadwin. Princeton is still mathematically alive in the Ivy League race helped by their win over league-leading Harvard earlier in the season. Yale beat Princeton 58-54 at New Haven this season. Ian Hummer led the Tigers with 18 points in the game. Yale hasn’t swept the season series against the Tigers since 2008.
Scouting Penn: The Quakers ended Harvard’s 28-game home streak on Saturday to move to within a half-game of the Ivy League lead. Led by Zach Rosen, Penn has won fivestraight, four of which have come by three points or less. Rosen was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday. He scored the Quakers' last 16 points in a win at Dartmouth and the last nine points in the victory over the Crimson.
Probable starters
Yale
Name, Ht, Year, Pos, PPg.
Jeremiah Kreisberg, 6-10, So., F, 7.7
Greg Mangano, 6-10, Sr, C, 18.5
Reggie Willhite, 6-4, Sr, F, 12.6
Austin Morgan, 5-10, Jr, G, 12.3
Michael Grace, 6-0, Jr.G, 5.5
Princeton

Name, Ht, Year, Pos, PPg.

Patrick Saunders, 6-8, Sr., F, 6.3
Ian Hummer, 6-7, Jr., F, 16.2
Brendan Connolly , 6-11, Jr.C, 5.3
T.J. Bray, 6-5, So., G, 7.2
Doug Davis, 5-11, Sr., G, 13.2

Off the bench: Yale: Brandon Sherrod, 6-6, Fr., F, 4.1, Jesse Pritchard, 6-5, So., G, 2.2. Princeton: Denton Koon, 6-8, Fr., F, 5.2, . Mack Darrow, 6-9, Jr., F, 6.8.
 Bill Cloutier

NEW HAVEN — A decade ago the Yale men’s basketball team entered its weekend series against Penn and Princeton with a 3-1 mark. The Bulldogs swept the pair of games and went on to share the Ivy League title.
They haven’t won a league crown since.

With the circumstances identical to begin this weekend, Yale scored the final 10 points to defeat Penn 60-53 in a crucial league contest in front of 2,012 at the Lee Amphitheater Friday night.
With the victory, Yale (14-5) improves to 4-1 in league play with another big contest against Princeton on tap tonight.
"This was a huge win," Yale center Greg Mangano said. "After the way we played last week there were a lot of people doubting us, but we know how good we can be. It’s good to have the opportunity to bounce back and prove ourselves."
A week ago Yale made loads of careless turnovers and was hammered by Harvard. While they didn’t clean things up much on Friday night, they won the game with heart.

"The mark of a good team is when you can overcome your mistakes and we were able to do that," Yale coach James Jones said. "There were plenty of them tonight, but we were still able to overcome the bad play with desire."
Mangano led all scorers with 23 points, including a huge 3-pointer that tied the game at 53 with 2:27 to play. Austin Morgan and Michael Grace each added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
Penn was paced by electric guard Zach Rosen, a two-time All-Ivy first-team selection, with 16 points. Rob Belcore added 11 points and six assists for Penn (11-10, 3-1).
The Quakers missed a lot of open shots. Rosen was 0-for-5 from 3-point range and high-scoring forward Tyler Bernardini, who scored 29 points in a game at UCLA earlier in the season, finished with six points on 2-of-13 shooting.
The game was close throughout. Yale broke open a 29-29 halftime score with the first eight points of the second half, but the lead evaporated quickly. Rosen then began to take over and a jumper in the lane gave the Quakers a 53-50 lead with 4:50 to play.
Penn never scored again.
"We wanted to make sure Penn won the game and we didn’t give it to them," Jones said. "We didn’t play well last week and we wanted to learn from that."
After Mangano’s 3, Reggie Willhite picked Rosen’s pocket with just over a minute to play. Willhite’s ensuing layup was blocked from behind but Morgan was there for the rebound. His shot was also blocked, but it was ruled goaltending and Yale took the lead for good.
The Bulldogs put the game away on the free-throw line, but it was an adventure. Brandon Sherrod made the first of a 1-and-1 situation, but missed the second. Mangano got the rebound and he was fouled.
Mangano missed his free throw, but out-raced everyone to the baseline to pull in the long rebound — his 10th of the game — and was fouled again. This time he put the game out of reach, making both free throws.
"I’m very disappointed," Penn coach Jerome Allen said. "Not so much because we lost, but we looked like we didn’t work that hard. I know what it’s going to take to win a title and we didn’t have it tonight."
The same can’t be said for the Bulldogs, who clearly out-worked Penn down the stretch.
"Everyone was singing our praises and saying this weekend was going to be easy for us," Allen said. "I still think we’re a better team and I’m really disappointed to come up short."
Allen said that Mangano made the difference.
"Every time he was open he made the shot, and every time we didn’t box out he got the rebound and scored."
Yale was 7-for-14 from 3-point range in the game. Penn shot 38 percent from the field. Willhite finished with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
NEW HAVEN --Taking a peripheral look at the Yale men’s basketball team one might think that the window is closing on its chances to win the Ivy League and earn an NCAA Tournament berth. With superstars like Greg Mangano and Reggie Willhite in their senior seasons it seems like it’s now or never.

Then you talk to freshman Brandon Sherrod and feel that things might even get better.
Sherrod and the Bulldogs (13-5, 3-1 Ivy) play host to Pennsylvania (11-9, 3-0) tonight at the Lee Amphitheater to kick off a crucial weekend of action in New Haven. On Saturday night Yale hosts Princeton (10-9, 1-2).
“I think our guys understand that our season is still ahead of us,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We still can accomplish everything that we want to accomplish. There was some embarrassment on Friday night (a 65-35 loss against Harvard) and there should have been but 18-year-old kids forget very easily.”
Sherrod is one of class of five promising freshmen Jones brought in last year. They’re all big and have just scratched the surface of their burgeoning talent. They include St. Louis center Will Childs-Klein and guard Javier Duren along with New York forward Matt Townsend and guard Armani Cotton.

“We call ourselves the Fab Five,” Sherrod said. “I’m blessed enough to be in that class. We could be very good in a couple of years.”
Sherrod stays after practice working with Townsend, a rugged 6-7 forward, on his perimeter game which he wants to add to his repertoire. He’s already a presence under the boards. At 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, Sherrod, an All-Stater for Stratford High who helped Choate win a prep school title last year, hunts down rebounds and has strong moves around the boards.
“The thing that strikes you most about Brandon is his athleticism,” Jones said. “He’ a big strong man for a 19-year-old kid. Then you meet him and he’s got a tremendous personality. He’s very well-spoken and has great faith.
“He’a a rabbit chasing the ball. He had eight rebounds in 10 minutes against Harvard and it’s amazing how he goes after the ball. Offensively he goes to his left very well and a lot of big guys struggle going to the opposite hand. There’s no question he can be a big scorer and he puts a lot of time into it.”
Penn provides a major test. Entering the contest undefeated in the Ivy League after cruising past rival Princeton on Monday, the Quakers are led by the high-scoring duo of Zach Rosen and Tyler Bernardini.
“Both teams have two exceptional players,” Jones said. “Zach Rosen is playing as good as anybody I’ve seen in the country. I don’t know that he’s had a bad game shooting the 3-pointer all season long. He made some shots from (near half-court) against Princeton and hit nothing but the bottom of the cup.”
Bernardini poured in 29 points earlier in the season in a game at UCLA.
“You can’t forget about Bernardini. He’s finally has his legs back after all the injuries that he’s had. He’s about 45 or 46. He graduated high school the same year that I did,” Jones quipped.
Sherrod knows the competition will be stiff but he’s ready for most any challenge. He even calls his plight as a kid from Bridgeport going to Yale amazing and he has seen the most action of the freshmen class averaging 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11 minutes a game.
“I think it’s a pretty good story, a kid from Bridgeport which is a pretty tough city coming to such a prestigious university,” Sherrod said. “To have my friends and family be able to come and see me develop as a player is even more special.
“Becoming a student at Yale was a wild adjustment as far as my time-management skills go because I’m so involved in a lot of things. I was singing a cappella with an all-Christian group called ‘Living Waters.’ I’m also a part of the Yale Faith in Action group.”
On the court Sherrod also continues to develop.
“I’ve learned a lot from Greg Mangano and (forward) Jeremiah Kreisberg,” he said. “I’ve worked hard and I’m happy how I’ve played so far. It’s nice to be the sixth or seventh man off the bench. I’m blessed with what I’ve been given. I like where I’m at right now. My role now is just to rebound and get after it, play defense and score when I need to in the paint. I’m here to provide a lot of energy for my team.”
Follow Bill on Twitter @BillCloutier. To receive breaking news first, simply text the word nhsports to 22700. *Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.