Penn prevails over Yale in nail-biter as its winning streak reaches six
Guards Jordan Dingle and Clark Slajchert led Penn with 18 and 13 points, respectively, in a game where neither team led by more than six points.
As the Ivy League regular season winds down, the intensity of every game is ramping up.
An eventful night featured matchups between the top four teams in the conference — including Penn and Yale.
In a game where neither team led by more than six points, the Quakers (15-11, 7-4) came out on top, 66-64, over the Bulldogs (17-7, 7-4).
“I thought that was such a hard-fought college basketball game by two physically and mentally tough teams,” Penn coach Steve Donahue said.
Guards Jordan Dingle and Clark Slajchert led Penn with 18 and 13 points, respectively, as the Quakers shot 42.6% from the field. Nick Spinoso had 10 points, and sophomore George Smith chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
John Poulakidas scored 17 points and snatched four rebounds for the Bulldogs, who shot 43.6%.
Bench contributes
Both teams’ benches got ample time to make an impact as points were hard to come by from start to finish.
Poulakidas was not shy shooting the ball, connecting on a trio of threes to hand the Bulldogs an early 16-11 lead. A three from Smith closed the gap to 16-14.
After a few ugly shots and picking up a couple fouls, Dingle finally connected on a three-pointer as a part of a 7-0 run to seize a 21-19 edge.
“If you watch Yale play, that’s kinda their scheme,” Dingle said. “It was just about us responding and trying to throw our own punches back at them.”
» READ MORE: Penn’s Jordan Dingle is hoping to win big things with the Quakers
Intense atmosphere
The Quakers thrived on the playoff-like atmosphere in the Palestra, collecting six steals and two blocks in the defense-heavy contest.
After more back and forth in the second half, a timely transition three from Smith and a handful of Dingle free throws helped give Penn what felt like a sizable 56-50 lead with 6 minutes, 10 seconds remaining.
Yale clawed back to a 63-61 deficit and had an open look from three to take the lead, but Dingle took a charge to end the threat.
A couple possessions later, Dingle hit contested floater, giving the Quakers a 65-61 lead with 12.1 seconds remaining. A Poulakidas three cut the deficit to one a final time with 5 seconds left, but Slajchert sealed the win with a free throw.
“These are the moments that all basketball players live for,” Dingle said. “I can’t say how proud I am of this team and the growth we’ve shown.”
Up next
Penn hosts Brown (13-11, 6-5) on Saturday in another key Ivy contest (6 p.m., ESPN+).