PRINCETON, N.J. – Yale's 10-game winning streak ended in a building where the Bulldogs have enjoyed a lot of recent success. Princeton had four players score in double figures on its way to a 73-62 victory at a packed Jadwin Gym.
The Bulldogs had won the regular season meeting in Jadwin in each of the last four seasons.
Yale (17-7, 8-1 Ivy) suffered its first Ivy loss but remains in a first-place tie with Cornell.
The Tigers (19-3) have won four straight games and are 7-2 in Ivy play.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Bez Mbeng scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Yale. He was 6-of-9 from the field and 6-of-6 from the foul line.
John Poulakidas added 16 points and
August Mahoney had 13.
Nick Townsend scored seven points, and
Jack Molloy had six off the bench.
Princeton's Xaivian Lee (19 points) and Matt Allocco (18) combined for 37 points to pace the Tigers.
TURNING POINT
The score was tied at 28 with four minutes left in the first half, but Princeton used a 10-2 run to take a 38-30 halftime lead. The Bulldogs closed to within 49-47 on a Poulakidas three-pointer midway through the second half, but the Tigers scored the next five points. Yale got back within four, but Princeton pulled away late.
KEY STATS
The Bulldogs entered the night leading the league in field goal percentage defense (.412) and rebounding margin (+6.2). Princeton shot 48 percent from the field and outrebounded Yale 32-28.
QUOTING JONES
"Princeton did a great job defending us and taking things away, and we were not tough enough," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We were not patient enough on offense to execute."
NOTES
• Yale was looking to win its first nine Ivy League games for the first time in school history.
• The Bulldogs were the second to last team in the nation to lose a conference game. Saint Mary's of the WCC is now the only unbeaten team in conference play.
• Despite the loss, Yale has won eight of the last 12 meetings with Princeton.
• The Bulldogs were without
Matt Knowling, who missed the game with an injury.
WHAT'S NEXT
Yale is back on the road next weekend, traveling to Cornell on Friday and Columbia on Saturday.
