WASHINGTON, D.C. – It was a record-breaking day on a special day for the Yale men's basketball team.
Paul Atkinson scored 21 points and
Jordan Bruner added 10 points, 13 rebounds and six assists as the Bulldogs rolled to an 89-75 victory over Howard in a Martin Luther King Day matinee at Burr Gymnasium.
It was Yale's 12
th non-conference win of the season, which is a new regular season school record. The Bulldogs, who have won 10 of their last 11 games, improved to 13-4 overall. Yale, which opened Ivy play with a win over Brown last Friday, has only 13 league games remaining now, starting Friday at Brown.
"I'm proud of the guys. To set a school record with 12 non-conference wins is a special accomplishment," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Today, we played well enough to win."
The Bulldogs were in control for a large majority of the game. They limited the Bison to 31 percent shooting from the field in the first half in building a 38-25 lead after 20 minutes.
The advantage grew to as many as 22 points in the second half before Howard staged a late, futile rally.
Matthue Cotton (15 points) and
Azar Swain (12 points) joined Atkinson and Bruner in double figures.
Jalen Gabbidon had eight points, and
Eric Monroe contributed six points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Eze Dike added seven points off the bench.
Atkinson got off to a strong start, scoring the Bulldogs' first eight points.
Yale outrebounded the Bison 41-30 and had 18 assists on 30 field goals.
Kyle Foster scored 13 points to pace Howard. Charles Williams, the Bison's leading scorer, was just 4-of-13 from the field.
The atmosphere in Burr Gymnasium was electric as the historic arena was nearly filled to capacity for the holiday game.
Yale was playing a non-conference game after starting Ivy play for the first time since 2001.
"It was a great experience for our guys," Jones said of the trip to the nation's capital. "To get an opportunity to visit the Martin Luther King Memorial [on Sunday] was special. I remember in sixth grade I had to memorize the `I have A Dream' speech, and Dr. King was an important role model to me. To play on Martin Luther King Day was a great way to honor his life."
There also was a large contingent of Yale fans in attendance, including family and friends of
EJ Jarvis, a Washington DC native.
Friday's game at Brown is a 7 p.m. tip and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
