NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's basketball team picked the right night to have one of its best offensive nights in recent memory. The Bulldogs shot 72 percent from the field in the second half, made 14 three-pointers in the game and rolled to an important 87-65 victory over Princeton before a crowd of 2,041 at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by
John Poulakidas, who was 5-of-6 from three-point range and finished with 19 points. Fellow sharpshooter
August Mahoney was 3-of-4 from deep and had 15 points.
Matt Knowling did most of his work in the paint in scoring 12 points, while
Bez Mbeng hit three treys en route to 11 points.
Isaiah Kelly added 11 points off the bench and made the longest three of the night with the shot clock winding down.
"Offensively we were on fire. It was just one of those nights," said
James Jones, The Joel E, Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We shot 72 percent in the second half and 60 percent for the game. When that happens, you're going to be pretty hard to beat."
Yale (14-6) trailed 36-35 at halftime and 49-44 four minutes into the second half. That's when the momentum started to change. The Bulldogs used an 11-2 run, capped by a Knowling dunk off an assist from Mahoney, to go ahead by four.
After the Tigers pulled within one, 57-56, Yale scored 15 straight points to seize control. Princeton never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs finished the night with 23 assists on their 35 field goals, committed just seven turnovers and held Princeton to 42 percent shooting.
"All the things we want to do, we did pretty well," Jones said.
Tosan Evbuomwan and Blake Peters scored 15 points apiece to pace the Tigers (14-6, 5-2 Ivy). Evboumwan, though, was limited to only nine shots thanks to strong defense from
EJ Jarvis, who had three blocked shots.
At the halfway point of the Ivy League season, the Bulldogs sit tied with Dartmouth for third place at 4-3. The Bulldogs and Big Green, though, are only one game behind Cornell and Princeton, who are both 5-2.
It was Alumni Day at Lee Amphitheater, and the 2001-02 Ivy championship team was honored at halftime. In just his third season at Yale, Jones guided the Bulldogs to a 21-11 overall record and a share of the Ivy League title with an 11-3 mark. Yale beat Princeton in an Ivy League playoff game at the Palestra and then lost to Penn in a game that determined the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Yale was selected for the NIT and upset Rutgers in the first round, the first postseason victory in the long history of the program. In the second round, the Bulldogs hosted Tennessee Tech at the old New Haven Coliseum, and before 9,847 fans, the largest home crowd in the history of Yale men's basketball, Yale fell to the Golden Eagles. The 21 overall wins were the most at the time since the 1948-49 season, and the Ivy crown was Yale's first since 1963. During the season, the Bulldogs posted wins over four major conference opponents – Penn State (Big Ten), Rutgers (Big East), Clemson (ACC) and Rhode Island (Atlantic 10). The highlight of the Ivy season was a home sweep of Penn and Princeton. At the conclusion of the Princeton game, a raucous student section rushed the court to celebrate with the Bulldogs.
Next up for the 2022-23 Bulldogs is a trip to Harvard next Friday. Tip off is slated for 5 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
