NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yale men's basketball team finds itself in an unfamiliar position after its Ivy League opener. Avery Brown scored seven of his team-high 16 points in the final 2:10 as Columbia held off a ferocious Yale comeback to escape with a 62-60 victory at Levien Gym.
It is the Bulldogs' first loss in their Ivy opener since the 2012-13 season.
Yale (10-4 overall) didn't go down without a fight. Trailing by 16 late in the first half, the Bulldogs came all the way back, tying the score at 53-53 on
John Poulakidas's driving layup with 3:29 remaining.
Columbia, though, hit several big shots in the final minutes, starting with Brown's three-pointer that snapped the tie. The Lions led by four, 61-57, after a Brown layup with 35 seconds left.
August Mahoney then made three free throws with six seconds left to pull Yale back within one. After Brown connected on one of two free throws, the Bulldogs had a chance in the final seconds but committed a turnover in their haste to get the ball up court.
Mahoney paced Yale with 17 points, including 14 in the second half.
Matt Knowling, who returned after missing three games with an injury, added 16 points and nine rebounds. Poulakidas finished with nine points,
EJ Jarvis scored eight and
Bez Mbeng had a team-high 10 rebounds.
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa scored 15 points for Columbia.
The Bulldogs, who had been off since Dec. 22 and were playing just their second game since Dec. 12, shot an uncharacteristic 28 percent (8-of-29) from the field in the first half as the Lions built a 34-20 lead after 20 minutes.
Yale, which was playing its sixth straight road game, returns to the friendly confines of the John J. Lee Amphitheater next weekend, hosting Dartmouth on Friday and Harvard on Saturday. The opening tip is set for 7 p.m. on both nights.
