NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale's recent mastery of Dartmouth continues.
Azar Swain scored 25 points, including going 14-of-14 from the free throw line, as the Bulldogs knocked off the Big Green 72-69 at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Yale has now won 11 straight over Dartmouth, including the last seven at Lee.
This one didn't come easily. The Bulldogs led 41-32 at halftime, but the Big Green slowly chipped away in the second half. Brendan Barry's three-pointer with 1:11 pulled Dartmouth within 66-64 remaining. A conventional three-point play from Barry made it a one-point game, 70-69, with 45 seconds left. Yale, though, made all of its free throws down the stretch. Swain hit six and
Bez Mbeng two in the final 1:26.
"I expect us to step up and make them," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs.
Dartmouth did have a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Barry missed a three-pointer off a set play, and after Aaryn Rai corralled the offensive rebound, Ryan Cornish's trey as time expired missed.
"We had a good idea what play they were going to run," Jones said. "Barry came off a screen, and it was a tough shot, running at the basket. We were fortunate to get out with a win."
The Bulldogs once again got contributions from a number of sources.
Matt Knowling scored 10 points and had five rebounds,
Isaiah Kelly scored nine points,
Matthue Cotton had eight points off the bench, and
Jalen Gabbidon scored seven.
Yale outrebounded the Big Green 33-27.
Barry paced Dartmouth with 25 points, while Dame Adelekun added 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Big Green (5-13, 2-5 Ivy) has now lost to Yale, Harvard and Princeton by a combined eight points.
The Bulldogs (11-9 overall) have won three straight games and are 5-1 in Ivy play.
"We've been growing since the first day [of practice]," Swain said. "The guys really care about each other, and it shows on the court."
Yale is right back at it on Saturday night, hosting Harvard. Tipoff at Lee Amphitheater is slated for 7 p.m.
