Rosen hits game-winning shot as Penn beats Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The game was coming down to the final possession, and Zack Rosen had the ball in his hands.

Penn coach Jerome Allen was content to take a seat and watch his team's star go to work.

Rosen delivered, driving the lane and sinking a floater with 2.3 seconds left to give Penn a 60-58 Ivy League win over Yale before 1,983 fans at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.

"Everyone knows that he's our leader," Allen said of Rosen. "At that moment in the game, there's nothing really any coach could do but sit down in the chair and just watch."

Penn (11-12, 5-4 Ivy League) took a 32-24 lead at halftime thanks to 55.6 percent shooting. Yale (12-12, 5-5) came out of intermission strong, mounting a 14-4 run to take a 38-36 lead with 16 minutes, 19 seconds left in the second half.

The game remained close for the rest of the night, and Greg Mangano brought Yale level at 58 by sinking two free throws with 3:10 remaining. It was the fifth tied score of the second half.

The score was still the same when Zack Rosen committed what could have been a costly turnover with 1:25 left in the game. His errant pass did not reach any teammates, but instead flew out of bounds into the Yale band's seating section.

That gave Yale the ball, but the Bulldogs could not convert any of their three attempts to score. Porter Braswell missed a three-point attempt, Austin Morgan missed a layup, and Morgan's second chance was blocked by Mike Howlett.

Penn got the ball back with 22 seconds remaining. Rosen took the ball himself, and after dribbling off some clock, he spotted a path through Yale's defense.

"Coach said make a play," Rosen said. "It felt good, because I almost cost us the game on the possession before."

The Bulldogs' last chance came to Morgan. He took the inbounds pass, got about a third of the way down the floor and heaved a desperation shot. It hit the front rim, and Penn survived.

Including his game-winning shot, Rosen finished with eight points, seven assists and six rebounds. Tyler Bernardini scored a team-high 16 points and Howlett added 11.

Mangano led Yale with 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Braswell scored 13 points.

Penn's victory sealed a sweep of the weekend road trip through New England. Bernardini admitted that it would help to heal some of the wounds inflicted by the Quakers' recent four-game losing streak.

"We got hit in the mouth a bit over that stretch," he said. "We had to regroup ourselves, and throw some punches."