HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Yale men's basketball team made a big statement on the Big Island. In their first game of the Outriggers Rainbow Classic, the Bulldogs opened the second half on a 25-5 run on their way to a 74-60 victory over Eastern Washington at SimpliFi Arena at the University of Hawaii.
Trailing 33-32 at halftime, Yale was dominant over the first 10 minutes of the second half, turning the small deficit into a 57-38 lead with 9:41 remaining.
"It was a tremendous defensive effort," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We played really well in the second half."
Matt Knowling had another big night for the Bulldogs, scoring a career-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field. Through two games, Knowling is averaging 23 points and shooting 80 percent (20-of-25).
John Poulakidas added 13 points,
Isaiah Kelly scored 11 points,
August Mahoney had eight points, and
Bez Mbeng contributed seven assists.
In the second half, Yale (2-0) shot 50 percent (14-of-28) and limited the Eagles to 33.3 percent (6-of-18).
The Bulldogs also were dominant on the glass, outrebounding Eastern Washington 36-24.
Steele Venters paced the Eagles with 15 points.
It was the first meeting between the teams.
Yale plays its second game of the tournament on Sunday against Mississippi Valley State. Tip off is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST.
