Harvard edges Yale in thriller for Ivy League title
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Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Steve Mondou-Missi's clutch jumper with 9.2 seconds to play was the difference as Harvard edged Yale, 53-51, to claim the Ivy League title and an NCAA Tournament bid Saturday at the Palestra.
Wesley Saunders finished with 22 points and Mondou-Missi scored 11 with nine rebounds for the Crimson (22-7), who became the first Ivy League team to reach the NCAA Tournament in four straight seasons since Princeton did so from 1989-92.
Justin Sears netted 13 points with five boards and three steals, while Javier Duren supplied 12 points and six rebounds for the Bulldogs (22-10), who last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1962.
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"It was a great basketball game," Yale head coach James Jones said. "Both teams fought hard. Harvard made one more play than we did."
Following a Siyani Chambers turnover, the Bulldogs went ahead 49-48 on Makai Mason's jumper with 1:47 to play. Saunders gave the Crimson back the lead on a three-point play on the next possession.
After a pair of Duren free throws tied the game, Mondou-Missi took a dish from Saunders and provided the game-winning jumper inside of 10 seconds left. Duren's layup failed to roll in and Yale was unable to put in the rebound before time expired.
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"I'm still speechless," said Saunders. "We were able to stay together and come out with the win."
Greg Kelley drained a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs an early lead at 12-11, then an Armani Cotton dunk with 2:18 to play made it a four-point game. Yale led 27-23 at halftime on a Sears slam.
Saunders put Harvard ahead with nine straight points as his consecutive treys made it a 36-32 game with 13 minutes to play.
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Travis continued the run by following his own miss with a layup and Saunders ended the 13-0 surge with a pair of free throws for a 40-32 advantage.
Yale answered right back with five unanswered points highlighted by Mason's contested layup which made it a 40-37 score with under nine minutes to play.
With over six minutes to play, Saunders hit a pair of jumpers around two Josh Travis free throws to restore Harvard's lead to 46-37.
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Cotton knocked down a 3 and Duren made four from the charity stripe to get Yale within 48-47 with 2:48 minutes remaining.
Game Notes
The Crimson have won five straight Ivy League championships ... The two teams split the season series as Harvard won 52-50 on Feb. 7 and Yale won 62-52 on March 6 ... It was the ninth playoff in Ivy League history and first since Princeton defeated Harvard on a buzzer beater in 2011 ... The Crimson shot 43.5 percent and limited the Bulldogs to 39.5 percent.