NEW HAVEN, Conn. – One full weekend of Ivy League play complete, one sweep in the books for the Bulldogs.
Azar Swain scored 25 points and
Paul Atkinson added 24 points and 11 rebounds as Yale extended its winning streak to six with an 86-71 victory over Cornell at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
The victory, coupled with Friday's 93-62 victory over Columbia, has the Bulldogs at 4-0 in league play and tied with Princeton atop the standings.
Jordan Bruner nearly added a triple double to help Yale put away the pesky Big Red. Bruner finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Jalen Gabbidon had 12 points, and
Eric Monroe contributed seven points and six assists.
Swain, who leads the Ivy League in three-pointers, was 8-fo-14 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range. Many of his treys helped thwart Cornell rallies, and the 25 points matched his career high.
"His ability to make shots is really important for our team. It stretches defenses," said
James Jones, the Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Hitting timely shots is also important, and he did a lot of that tonight."
Yale (16-4, 4-0 Ivy) finished 10-of-18 on three-pointers, one night after making 14 in the win over Columbia.
"We are fortunate to have a lot of really good shooters," Jones said.
The Bulldogs had a 12-point lead midway through the first half, but Cornell refused to go away. The Big Red closed the half on an 11-2 run to pull within 42-39.
Yale built the advantage back to 11 seven minutes into the second half, but Cornell stayed within striking distance until a late barrage from the Bulldogs that included emphatic dunks from Atkinson and Gabbidon and a three-pointer from Swain.
"We're a confident group," Swain said. "We know we are going to take teams best shot every time we step out there. Credit to them. They played really hard and executed a lot of their stuff, but as a group we just rally in times like that."
Yale improved to 7-0 in the friendly confines of Lee Amphitheater this season and has won 15 of its last 16 games overall.
The Bulldogs, who received votes in the national coaches poll this week, sit at No. 48 in the KenPom rankings after the win.
Next up, comes a visit from Harvard on Friday. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
