After finishing up what Head Coach Jesse Agel called a challenging out-of-conference schedule, men's basketball opened up Ivy League play with a split against Yale in two games over the past two weeks. Overall, the Bears put up a 3-5 record over winter break play.
Returning from a 21-day break, the Bears earned a 74-63 victory against Kean on Dec. 28. Led by Matt Mullery's '10 double-double and 17 points from Adrian Williams '11, the Bears put the Cougars down despite leading by only three points with 4:05 left on the clock.
After an 83-78 loss to Sacred Heart on the road two days later, All-Ivy forward Mullery guided Brown to an 72-71 overtime victory against Wagner on Jan. 4. His driving lay-up with five seconds remaining put the Bears on top and gave Mullery 14 on the night. Tucker Halpern '13 added 22 points and seven rebounds, both career highs. Andrew McCarthy '13 netted 15 points and had six rebounds in just 14 minutes.
Halpern was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week following strong performances against both Wagner and Army.
"As well as he is playing now, he's just scratching the surface of what we expect from him and what he expects from himself," Agel said.
McCarthy also earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season. With the Bears plagued by injuries, McCarthy stepped off of the bench and had 14 points and eight rebounds against Yale on Jan. 15.
"As far as the freshmen are concerned, I told them they're having tremendous freshman years," Agel said. "They're learning on the fly and have done a great job."
Brown kicked off its 14-game Ivy League season with its first conference contest against Yale. The Bears earned a 75-66 victory with a strong performance from Steve Gruber '10, who scored a career-high 15 points off the bench. The Bears gained a 10-point lead midway through the second half, but Yale answered with a 7-0 run to pull within three points with 7:34 left in the game.
The same teams played a week later, but Brown fell short, 71-63. Mullery scored 19 and guard Garrett Leffelman '11 added a career-high 15, but the shots weren't falling for the rest of the team. After splitting the series, both Brown and Yale are now 7-12 overall and 1-1 in Ivy League play.
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