Yale at Siena
Tues., Nov. 16 – 7 p.m.
Albany, N.Y.
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NEW HAVEN, Conn – It's another quick turnaround for the Yale men's basketball team. After a trip to Seton Hall over the weekend, the Bulldogs are right back at it on Tuesday, facing Siena in Albany. Tip at the Times Union Center is slated for 7 p.m.
 
The last meeting between the teams was quite memorable, a 100-89 Yale victory in triple overtime at Lee Amphitheater in 2019. It was the longest game for Yale since going five overtimes with Princeton in 1956. The game featured 21 ties and 23 lead changes. Azar Swain had a big night, scoring a then career-high 25 points, including a three-pointer with two seconds left in regulation that tied the score at 72. He made two free throws with 17 seconds left in the first extra period to tie the score at 80 and force a second OT.
 
A similar performance on Tuesday would make for another memorable night for Swain, who has 978 career points. He is looking to become the 31^st Bulldog in school history to score 1,000-career points. The last to reach the milestone was Paul Atkinson '21 in 2020. Swain, a first team All-Ivy selection in 2020, is off to another strong start, averaging 14.3 points through three games.
 
Matthue Cotton also is off to a fast start. He scored a career-high 23 points in last Friday's win over UMass and leads the team in scoring (15.0 ppg.) and three pointers (8).
 
Jalen Gabbidon, the 2020 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, is the third Bulldog averaging double figures in scoring at 12.3 ppg. He also leads the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg.) and is coming off the first double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) of his career.
 
Yale, ranked No. 19 in the CollegeInsider Preseason Mid-Major top 25 poll, posted dominant victories over Vassar and UMass in its first two games of the season, shooting better than 50 percent from the field in both.
 
The Bulldogs, the two-time defending Ivy League champions, are the favorite again. Yale collected 115 points and seven of 17 first-place votes in the league's preseason media poll. 
 
The trip to Albany is a homecoming for two Bulldogs. August Mahoney, who is shooting 50 percent from three-point range, is from nearby Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and was the 2019 New York State Class A Player of the Year at Albany Academy.
 
James Jones, the Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs, is a 1986 graduate of the University at Albany and in 1995 earned his master's in educational administration. Jones played for and coached with the legendary Dr. Richard Sauers.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
Tuesday will be the fourth meeting all-time between the Bulldogs and Saints. Prior to the 2019 triple overtime thriller, the last matchup was an 82-70 Siena victory on Nov. 29, 1997, in Albany. Earlier that year, the Bulldogs won the first meeting, 64-46 at Lee Amphitheater on Jan. 23, 1997.
 
SCOUTING SIENA
 
The Saints (0-2) are coming off an 83-63 home loss to Colonial Athletic Association preseason favorite Delaware on Saturday. Colby Rogers scored a game-high 20 points, connecting on 6-of-7 three-point attempts for the Saints, who saw their 14-game Times Union Center win streak snapped. Rogers leads the team in scoring at 14.5 ppg. Siena opened the season with a 75-47 loss to No. 23 St. Bonaventure. The Saints are the two-time defending MAAC regular season champions.