Yale Holds Lions To 22 Second-Half Points
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Senior Weekend got off to a strong start for
the Yale men's basketball team. Four of Yale's five starters scored
in double figures as the Bulldogs cruised to a 65-48 Ivy League
victory over Columbia before a crowd of 1,547 at the John J. Lee
Amphitheater. Alex Zampier and Paul Nelson, the two healthy
seniors, each played a big role. Zampier scored a team-high 15
points, while Nelson added 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks
despite being limited to 19 minutes because of early foul trouble.
Yale (12-18, 6-7 Ivy) held the Lions to 31.1 percent shooting
from the field. Noruwa Agho, Columbia's leading scorer who had 30
points in the first meeting with the Bulldogs, was limited to 14
points and made only 5-of-17 shots.
"I thought our defense was stellar," said James Jones, The Joel
E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men's Basketball. "We really
stifled them."
The Bulldogs trailed 36-33 with 14:55 remaining in the second
half but scored 14 straight points to seize control. Michael Sands
had eight points during the run. He started it with a layup and
then capped the spurt with a pair of conventional three-point plays
that made it 47-36 with 9:34 left. Columbia never got closer than
eight the rest of the way.
"We ran some isolations for Mike, and he finished strong," Jones
said.
Sands scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high nine
rebounds. Porter Braswell added 10 points and Greg Mangano
contributed six points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots.
Austin Morgan had a strong game as well. He scored five of his six
points in the second half, including a three-pointer during the
14-0 run.
"I thought Austin really changed the flow of the game," Jones
said. "He made a big shot and picked up a couple of charges."
Mark Cisco was the only other Columbia player to reach double
figures. He scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Columbia (10-17, 4-9 Ivy) had its biggest lead of the game,
15-10, midway through the first half, but the Bulldogs scored the
next 12 points. The Lions, though, closed the half with an 11-7 run
to pull within 29-26 at the intermission.
Columbia shot only 29 percent from the field in the opening 20
minutes but stayed in the game by outrebounding Yale 25-16.
NOTES: Yale seniors Josh Davis and Jordan Gibson both missed the
game with injuries... Columbia finished with a 42-34 edge in
rebounding. It was the first time this season Yale won a game when
it was outrebounded... Yale outscored the Lions 26-7 at the foul
line...Columbia scored only 22 points in the second half... The
Bulldogs swept the season series from Columbia for the first time
since 2006. Yale won the first meeting 79-64 on Feb. 6... This was
the 14th meeting between Jones and his younger brother Joe, who is
in his seventh year as the head coach at Columbia. Yale has won
nine of the games... The Bulldogs conclude the season on Saturday,
hosting Cornell at 7 p.m. The Big Red clinched the outright Ivy
League title with a 95-76 win over Brown on Friday. Yale's four
seniors, Davis, Gibson, Nelson and Zampier will be honored in a
ceremony prior to tip-off.
Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity
