Yale got back to its core principles Tuesday night. Defense, rebounding and sharing the ball helped the Bulldogs to a dominant 82-54 victory over Siena at the Times Union Center in Albany.
Â
Azar Swain scored 23 points, including the 1000
th of his outstanding career, to pace Yale, but there were a number of significant contributions.
Jalen Gabbidon added 12 points and eight rebounds,
Yussif Basa-Ama and
Matthue Cotton each scored eight points,
August Mahoney had seven points, and
Isaiah Kelly chipped in with five points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Â
Yale, who improved to 3-1 on the season, outrebounded the Saints 46-34, limited them to 32.8 percent shooting from the field and had a season-high 17 assists.
Â
The Bulldogs also showed great resiliency in bouncing back from a loss at Seton Hall on Sunday.
Â
Swain's milestone bucket came with seven minutes left in the second half on a pull-up three-pointer in transition. He is the 31
st Bulldog to score 1,000 career points. The last was
Paul Atkinson '21 in 2020.
Â
"Azar is one of the toughest kids I've ever coached," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We depend a lot on him."
Â
Yale raced out to an early 11-4 lead and never looked back. The lead was 33-22 at halftime and grew to 28 points in the second half.
Â
"We got a lot better in the second half," Jones said.
Â
The trip to Albany was a homecoming for two Bulldogs. Mahoney is from nearby Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and was the 2019 New York State Class A Player of the Year at Albany Academy. He had a large contingent of family and friends in attendance.
Â
Jones 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.
Â
The Bulldogs are back on the road on Friday when they face Vermont in Burlington. Tip is slated for 4 p.m.
Â
Â
