The biggest weekend of the Ivy League men's basketball season resulted in the end of Penn's 48-game winning streak, a two-way tie for first place between the Quakers and Princeton and fourth-place Harvard trailing both leaders by two-and-a-half games.
The Crimson's Ancient Eight title hopes are in serious jeopardy following weekend losses to both the Tigers (14-5, 6-1 Ivy) and Quakers (11-7, 6-1).
Friday night, a clutch three-pointer by Ivy League Co-Player of the Week Sydney Johnson halted a gutsy comeback by Harvard (12-8, 4-4), sealing its 49-44 loss to Prince-ton.
The contest had been heralded as a showcase of two of the nation's top defensive teams, with the Tigers ranked first and the Crimson sixth in points allowed per game entering Friday's contest.
The game vindicated the prediction, as both teams shot well below 50 percent en route to a final score more reminiscent of a high school basketball game.
Penn, meanwhile, was in the process of losing to Dartmouth (13-7, 6-2) in front of an upset-minded Hanover crowd. The Big Green's 54-53 victory left the Quakers two games shy of tying the NCAA record for consecutive conference wins, held by UCLA.
With Penn leading 50-43 and 7:17 to go, Dartmouth went on an 11-3 run to close out the game. Big Green center Brian Gilpin sealed the win with a free throw with eight seconds left in the game.
The Quakers quickly rebounded with a 77-63 victory over the Crimson on Saturday night. Despite a 25-point effort by senior Mike Gilmore, who was named to the Ivy League honor roll for the week, Harvard was unable to foil Penn's dynamic duo of Ira Bowman and Tim Krug.
Bowman, the Ivy League co-Player of the Week with Johnson, had a career night, scorching the Crimson for 29 points while grabbing 11 boards out of the backcourt. Krug scored 13 and blocked two shots before fouling out.
Friday night's action set up Saturday's contest between Princeton and Dartmouth as a battle for at least a share of the Ivy League lead.
In that game, Johnson held the Big Green's Seamus Lonergan, the league's leading scorer, to just six points as the Tigers won, 52-41, to grab a share of first place with the Quakers.
The second division was highlighted by the first league win of the season for Columbia (5-15, 1-7), a 74-58 victory over Yale (7-12, 2-6). It was also the first league win for Lions' rookie coach Armond Hill.
Yale was coming off consecutive wins, 53-49 over Cornell (7-12, 3-5) and 65-64 over Army, before the blowout loss to Columbia.
Lions' freshman Gary Raimondo was named rookie of the week for pouring in 20 points and dishing out eight assists in two games.
Cornell and Brown (8-12, 3-5), now tied for fifth place in the league, each split their respective weekend series. The Big Red countered its loss to Yale with a 67-53 triumph over Brown.
The Bears, meanwhile, defeated Columbia, 74-62, before falling to Cornell the following night.
This weekend the Crimson faces road contests against the Lions and the Big Red. Harvard beat both teams soundly earlier this season at Lavietes Pavilion.
In other league action, Brown and Yale each will play host to Penn and Princeton, while Cornell and Columbia will both extend the welcome mat to Dartmouth and Harvard.
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