AMHERST, Mass. – Yale continues to find ways to win.
Azar Swain scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half and overtime as the Bulldogs rallied for a gritty 83-80 victory over UMass at the Mullins Center.
It was the sixth straight win for Yale, who improved to 3-1 in overtime.
This one didn't come easily. The Bulldogs (9-3) trailed by five at halftime and were down seven with five minutes left. That's when Swain took over. He hit back-to-back three-pointers to ignite a 12-5 run that tied the score at 75-75 after regulation.
Paul Atkinson scored four points, and
Jordan Bruner added a layup off a pretty feed from
Eric Monroe during the spurt.
"They [UMass] maintained the momentum for most of the second half until Azar started making some big shots to get us back in the game," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Our guys were ready for overtime. They knew what to expect, and they came out really well and executed."
Swain made sure Yale started the extra period strong. He nailed a baseline jumper of the Bulldogs' first possession and followed that up with a strong drive to the basket to increase the lead to four. Yale never relinquished the lead, outscoring the Minutemen 8-5. Bruner helped seal the win with a big block late in the extra period.
"When it went to overtime, we weren't down or disappointed. That was new life for us," said Swain, a Brockton, Mass., native who attended UMass games as a kid. "We just wanted to come out with energy and getting that first basket helped. We are pretty battle tested. We've played a lot of overtime games, so we've been there before."
It was the fourth overtime game of the season for the Bulldogs, including a triple overtime victory over Siena last month.
Swain finished 9-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-11 from three-point range.
"I was a little bit off in the first half, but I knew we needed a little spark on offense," he said. "Some games it's other people providing the spark whether it's Paul or Jordan, Jalen or Matt. It was my opportunity to provide it tonight, and the guys looked to me to make those big shots, and I felt comfortable."
Swain had plenty of support. Bruner (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Atkinson (15 points, 10 rebounds) both posted double-doubles.
Matthue Cotton added 13 points and four assists off the bench,
August Mahoney was 3-of-4 from the field and scored seven points and Monroe contributed three points and eight assists.
Monroe now has 17 assists and only three turnovers in his last two games.
The Bulldogs had 26 assists on 34 field goals.
Yale built a 12-point advantage midway through the first half, but UMass used a 23-7 run over the final five minutes to take a 45-40 lead at the intermission.
Carl Pierre scored 26 points to pace the Minutemen.
The Bulldogs now have a 10-day break for final exams. They are back in action on Dec. 22 at Clemson. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.
