LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Yale's two days at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney resulted in a championship. Paul Atkinson and Azar Swain scored 15 points apiece and Jordan Bruner added 13 points and nine rebounds to lead a potent Bulldog offense in an 81-61 dismantling of Bucknell in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off Orlando Bracket.
 
Yale shot 58.5 percent from the field, while limiting the Bison to just 35.6 percent.
 
The Bulldogs had cruised to a 73-51 win over Western Michigan on Monday in the semifinals.
 
"The last two games have been very impressive, especially defensively and that is what I am most proud of," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "The guys have done a great job of locking down."
 
Yale (5-3) was never really challenged in either game. Against Bucknell, the Bulldogs had a 29-12 lead midway through the first half and never looked back.
 
The advantage grew to as many as 29 points in the second half.
 
Yale exploited its size advantage in the post, outscoring Bucknell 42-12 in the paint.
 
"We knew that we had an advantage inside," said captain Eric Monroe, who had seven assists one day after tallying a career-high eight in the win over Western Michigan. "If we could get the ball inside to Paul and Jordan, they would struggle to guard them on the block. We played well, we shared the ball, so we are happy with how we played."
 
Atkinson and Bruner combined to go 13-of-20 from the field. Neither was required to play more than 28 minutes.
 
The Bulldogs also got strong play from the bench, which contributed 33 points. Jameel Alausa scored 10, Matthue Cotton added six, Austin Williams had four, August Mahoney tallied three and Isaiah Kelly, Eze Dike, Wyatt Yess, Jake Lanford and Michael Feinberg all chipped in with two points.
 
"I think there is more of a comfort level with our bench and hopefully that will continue," Jones said.
 
Yale has won three of its last four games and now turns its attention to a very strong Vermont team that will come to Lee Amphitheater on Sunday.
 
"We've got a hard stretch of games coming up," Monroe said. "To go into it with a couple of wins and confidence will help us a lot."
 
Sunday's game vs. the Catamounts is a 3 p.m. tip.