ITHACA, N.Y. — In front of a packed house in Newman Arena, Penn claimed their first Ivy League Tournament title since 2018 and are headed back to the NCAA Tournament in Fran McCaffery’s first year at the helm, defeating top-seeded Yale, 88-84 in overtime.
Still without leading scorer
Ethan Roberts,
TJ Power stepped up in a big way once again, scoring 23 points in the first half alone to tie the Ivy League Tournament record for most points scored in a half. In what was a back-and-forth half with multiple lead changes, Yale kept finding answers to Power, however, as the Quakers only took a two-point lead heading into halftime, 41-39.
In the second half, Yale responded with a balanced attack as
Trevor Mullin,
Isaac Celiscar, and
Devon Arlington all hit three-pointers to give Yale a three-point lead midway through the half while limiting Power to only two more points in the opening 10 minutes. Yale was able to hold on to their advantage throughout the closing moments, leading by six with just over three minutes to play.
Then, Power poured in the final 10 points for the Quakers, including two three-pointers, one being a falling away buzzer-beater, to force the game into overtime. The clutch shot was Power's 40
th point of the game, setting the Ivy Madness scoring record.
From there, after exchanging buckets early in the period, a 5-0 Penn run that included free throws from Power and a three-pointer from
Cameron Thrower, who scored a career-high 19 points, gave the Quakers aN 82-78 lead that they would not relinquish.
Power finished with a double-double, tallying 44 points and 14 rebounds, as he was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Penn will now await to hear their seeding and matchup for the NCAA Tournament at 6 p.m. on the selection show.
All-Tournament Team
TJ Power, Penn (Most Outstanding Player)
Cameron Thrower, Penn
Trevor Mullin, Yale
Jake Fiegen, Cornell
Ben Eisendrath, Harvard