ALBANY, N.Y. – Yale found itself in an unfamiliar position at halftime of Wednesday's game at Albany. The Bulldogs were trailing, albeit by only one point. It was just the third time this season they were behind at the break. The response was impressive. Yale locked down the Great Danes, limiting them to 21 points on 31 percent shooting. The result was an impressive 61-52 victory at the SEFCU Arena.
"We got better defensively," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs, of the second-half performance. "That's been our calling card. We talked about keeping them out of the paint, and we did a nice job of that."
The Bulldogs (7-3) extended their winning streak to four, and they have won five of their last six. The only blemish was a two-point loss at Penn State in a game Yale had the lead for nearly 38 minutes.
Offensively, four Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by
Jordan Bruner, who tallied 17 points.
Paul Atkinson added 14 points and nine rebounds,
Azar Swain scored 11 and
Jalen Gabbidon scored 10.
Eric Monroe had five assists and one turnover in 30 minutes running the offense.
Trailing 29-28, Yale opened the second half with a 13-5 run. Bruner hit back-to-back three-pointers to spark the spurt. He finished 5-of-7 from beyond the arc in the game.
"Jordan's a tough matchup," said Jones. "He's a skilled player who would rather pass than shoot. When he steps out and knocks down shots, it really helps our basketball team."
Albany pulled within three, 43-40, midway with 13 minutes left, but the Bulldogs answered with a 12-5 run to regain control.
Gabbidon scored all 10 of his points in the second half and was outstanding on the defensive end, helping to limit Albany's leading scorer, Cameron Healy, to just 2-of-7 shooting over the final 20 minutes.
"Jalen is our defensive stopper," Jones said. 'I've been really fortunate over the years to have one player that I can count on to guard our opponent's best scorer, and Jalen is that guy for us now. Tonight, he was able to give us some offense as well."
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Great Danes (5-4).
The game was a homecoming for a pair of Bulldogs. Jones is a 1986 Albany graduate and also served as an assistant coach for the Great Danes for five seasons.
First year
August Mahoney is a Saratoga Springs, N.Y., native who attended Albany Academy where he was the New York State Class A Player of the Year. Mahoney played five minutes off the bench and had an assist.
"It was a little weird staying at a hotel 30 minutes from my house," said Mahoney, who had a number of family and friends in attendance.
Yale is back in action on Saturday at Lehigh. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
