ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — TJ Power scored an Ivy Madness-record 44 points and Cam Thrower hit five clutch points in overtime, lifting Pennsylvania to an 88-84 victory over Yale to win the Ivy Legue championship on Sunday.
Thrower’s 3-pointer with two minutes left in overtime gave the Quakers an 82-78 lead. After Yale answered with a 3, Thrower rebounded his own miss in the paint and followed up in traffic for an 84-81 lead. Power added two free throws for a five-point lead with 17 seconds left.
The win sends Penn (18-11) to the NCAA Tournament for the 25th time. First-year Quakers coach Fran McCaffery, a Penn alum, is taking his fifth program to the tournament.
Power hit two 3-pointers in the final seven seconds of regulation and Penn forced overtime at 75-all. Penn had trailed since a 3-pointer by Yale’s Devon Arlington made it 61-58 with nine minutes left in the second half.
Power, who played at Duke and Virginia earlier in his career, made 14 of 26 shots overall, 7 of 14 3-pointers and 9 of 9 free throws. He grabbed 14 rebounds. Thrower scored 19 points and was Penn’s only other player in double digits.
Trevor Mullin scored 22 points and Isaac Celiscar had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Yale (24-6). Nick Townsend and Casey Simmons also scored 17 each.
Yale led 19-16 then ran off six consecutive points to go ahead 25-16 with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half. TJ Power led a Penn rally with 12 of his 23 first-half points and the Quakers were up 41-39 at halftime.
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