Penn made only five of 21 three-point attempts in the game, and was outmuscled and outhustled by the home team.
“We came out and didn’t play as hard as we needed to [in order] to win,” said Penn guard Zack Rosen, who led the Quakers with 16 points.
A taut first half ended in a 29-29 tie. The largest lead for either team in the first 20 minutes was four points.
Yale (14-5, 4-1 Ivy League) opened the second half with an 8-0 run. The Quakers (11-10, 3-1) slowly clawed their way back, tying the score on a free throw by Fran Dougherty midway through the half. But they did not take the lead until Steve Rennard hit a three-pointer with eight minutes left, putting Penn up 49-48.
Over the next five minutes and 30 seconds of play, the teams combined to score a total of nine points. The last three of them were contributed by Mangano, who tied the score from beyond the arc at 53-53 with 2:31 remaining.
Yale took a 55-53 lead with 1:17 to play when Rob Belcore was whistled for goaltending an Austin Morgan layup attempt.
Bernardini had a chance to tie the score with 25 seconds left, but missed an open jumper in the lane. Brandon Sherrod, Mangano and Reggie Willhite then sealed the victory at the free throw line.
Mangano ended the game leading all scorers with 23 points, and also contributed 10 rebounds. Seven of those boards came on the offensive glass, contributing to a near-even rebounding margin at that end of the floor. Yale pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, while Penn got 16 defensive rebounds.
“For us to give up 15 offensive rebounds and expect to win a game, we’re kidding ourselves,” Allen said.
Allen admitted that for as well as his team played in wins over Saint Joseph’s and Princeton, the Quakers aren’t at an Ivy League championship level.
“It’s great to hear what people say on the periphery, but I don’t buy into it because I know us,” he said. “I know what it’s going to take to be champions of this league, and obviously we don’t have it yet.”
