By ADAM ZAGORIA
Brown appeared on the verge of its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1986, but Yale’s Matt Knowling had other thoughts.
The 6-foot-6 senior hit a buzzer-beating jumper to propel No. 2 Yale past No. 4 Brown, 62-61, at Columbia’s Levien Gym and back into the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs (22-9) have won three of the last four Ivy League Tournaments. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for Brown.
With the Bears clinging to a 61-60 lead, Brown’s Malachi Ndur missed two foul shots with 10 seconds remaining that could have extended Brown’s advantage to 63-60.
Knowling then hit the game-winner off a dish from Bez Mbeng, sending the Bulldogs and their fans into a wild celebration.
MATT KNOWLING (@MattKnowling) SENDS YALE TO THE BIG DANCE AT THE BUZZER!! HE HITS THE SHORT SHOT ON A DISH FROM BEZ MBENG!! (2) YALE WINS THE IVY LEAGUE TOURNEY 62-61 OVER (4) BROWN ON A LATE COMEBACK (Video via @MrMatthew_CFB) pic.twitter.com/YHQRp3E9Mx
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 17, 2024
After knocking off league favorite Princeton in Saturday’s semifinals, Brown (13-18) was looking to become the 23rd team to go into the Dance with a sub-.500 record since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
BRUNO UP BY TWO. @BrownU_MBB's Kalu Anya muscles through and Yale calls time out. Levien Gym is LOUD. 🌿🏀
— Ivy League (@IvyLeague) March 17, 2024
📺: https://t.co/Dc46nTB28h (ESPN2)#IvyMadness | @TIAA pic.twitter.com/jogndOPXQ1
Brown used a 14-4 run to take a 54-48 lead with under 3 minutes to go.
Yale’s John Poulakidas (team-high 18 points) drained a 3-pointer to bring Yale within 61-60 with 14.3 seconds left.
Kino Lilly Jr., the Ivy league’s leading scorer, led Brown with 21 points, while Ndur and Kalu Anya added 12 apiece.
August Mahoney added 15 points for Yale.
Brown started the season 2-8 overall and 2-6 in the league. Head coach Mike Martin made a lineup change in mid-February, adding junior Lyndel Erold and Lesburt Jr., a sophomore, to the starting lineup, and the Bears have gone 7-2 since.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram
