NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Another thriller, another impressive result for the Yale men's basketball team. The Bulldogs outscored Siena 14-3 in the third overtime period to earn a wild 100-89 victory over the Saints before an enthusiastic crowd at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
It was the third overtime game of the season for Yale, and the longest since the Bulldogs fell to Princeton 79-77 in five overtimes in 1956.
Azar Swain scored a career-high 25 points, including a three-pointer with two seconds left in regulation that tied the score at 72. He then made two free throws with 17 seconds left in the first extra period to tie the score at 80 and force a second OT.
"I'm really proud of our guys," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "They dug down. It was a great atmosphere and we were very fortunate to come away with the win."
The game featured 21 ties and 23 lead changes.
When Siena's Jalen Pickett hit one of two free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation, the Bulldogs found themselves down three. After a timeout, Swain, answered with a long three-pointer, forcing the extra period.
"Coach [Jones] drew up a play for me at the top of the key. I had an option to kick it, but they gave me some space. That's a shot I work on," said Swain, who added eight rebounds and six assists in 48 minutes. "There was a lot of trust and confidence in the huddle."
The Bulldogs (3-2) dominated the third overtime. Siena scored the first two points, but Yale answered with an 8-0 run that included a
Matthue Cotton three-pointer and a huge offensive rebound and put back by
Jordan Bruner off a missed free throw.
Bruner had another outstanding all-around game, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds, nine assists and seven blocks in 44 minutes.
Paul Atkinson added 21 points and nine rebounds,
Eric Monroe had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Cotton chipped in 13 points off the bench and
Jalen Gabbidon contributed 10 points.
Manny Camper scored 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to pace the Saints (2-3).
"Siena is a very good team," Jones said. "We will learn from this game and use it as an opportunity to be better in our league."
The Bulldogs have little time to savor this win. They are off to Penn State tomorrow and will play the Nittany Lions on Saturday before continuing on to the ESPN Wide World of Disney Complex for games next Monday and Tuesday. All three of those games are part of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
