PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Yale relies on Alex Zampier for a lot. And on Friday night, as they tried to salvage a split with Brown over an eight-day stretch, they called on him late and he delivered.
The Bulldogs allowed a big early lead to evaporate in the second half, and they never trailed thanks in part to Zampier, who scored 22 points and had four steals, including 13 points in the second half. It was a better outing than the 6-16 effort he had from the field a week earlier, when they lost to the Bears in New Haven.
But more important than the final stat line was when he got a number of them. The Bulldogs led by as many as 14 points, and led by double digits for a lot of the first half as they had a lot more energy coming out of the gates. But Brown eventually rallied to within one possession several times in the second half.
With the lead down to 50-48, Zampier hit a three-pointer to push the lead back up to five. After Brown scored the next four points, Zampier got to the foul line and made both free throws. Although he missed the next time down, the Bulldogs got the lead back up to three before he assisted on a three-pointer by Porter Braswell. The Bears got within four twice after the under-4 media timeout, and each time Zampier came up big to answer, first with a steal he turned into a layup at the other end and then a jumper that basically sealed the game.
“He’s always been able to do that,” head coach James Jones said of Zampier’s play late in the game. “I think he’s a tough guard for most guys in the league one-on-one.”
It wasn’t lost on the opposing coach, who expected as much.
“When the chips were down, they went to their all-league guy, and he really stepped up and carried them,” said Brown head coach Jesse Agel.
Zampier is neck-and-neck with Cornell’s Ryan Wittman for the Ivy League lead in scoring, and that will probably remain the case given how much they rely on him. They have several possibilities for second and third options, but the consistency hasn’t there. Michael Sands is their second-leading scorer and had a good run of double-digit scoring games going, but had just seven on Friday. Greg Mangano has shown signs of being one of the complementary options, as has Jordan Gibson. But Mangano has missed time with injuries and Gibson is now coming off the bench.
Mangano was another notable player in the win, as he had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out. Although he was in foul trouble for much of the night, Jones found a positive there because he feels his post players could do a better job than they have of late.
“It’s nice to have somebody foul out,” Jones said. “That means maybe he’s doing something. I don’t know the last time we had a guy in foul trouble. Having him take the fouls and take the hits, that’s what post play is all about.”
If Mangano or Sands, or the combination of them, can produce some reliable inside offense to complement Zampier, the Bulldogs can be a tough out. Knocking off Cornell or Harvard will be difficult, but after those two the race in the Ivy appears to be wide open. As they try to get there, Zampier will be the player they count on the most.
