NEW YORK, N.Y. – Yale's formula for success didn't change with the start of the postseason. The Bulldogs shut down Cornell's high-powered offense, shared the ball and used a balanced scoring attack to dispose of the Big Red 69-57 in the second semifinal of the Ivy League Tournament at Columbia's Levien Gym.
Yale, the No. 2 seed, meets No. 4 Brown in Sunday's championship game at noon. The Bears upset top-seeded Princeton in the first semifinal.
The Bulldogs are 21-9 overall. Cornell is 22-7.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Danny Wolf scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to post his 14th double-double of the season.
August Mahoney was 5-of-9 from three-point range and finished with 16 points.
Matt Knowling (12 points) and
John Poulakidas (11 points) also scored in double figures.
Bez Mbeng grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out three assists and played outstanding defense.
Yassine Gharram and
Nick Townsend each had three points, and
Casey Simmons had two points.
Chris Manon, a first team All-Ivy selection, and Jake Fiegen both scored 10 points to lead Cornell.
KEY STAT
The Big Red entered the game 11th in the nation in field goal percentage and 16th in scoring, but Yale's defense was smothering. Cornell shot just 32.8 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bulldogs raced out to a 9-2 lead and never relinquished it. Yale's biggest lead of the first half was 14, and the Bulldogs had a 12-point advantage, 37-25, at the break. Early in the second half, Yale was in front by 19, but the Big Red made a run, pulling within six, 56-50, with six remaining. The Bulldogs, though, had an answer. Poulakidas's three-pointer pushed the lead back to double figures, 60-50, with 3:30 left and Yale wasn't threatened again.
QUOTING JONES
"It was a really good game and I tip my hat to Cornell. They are a very good basketball team," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "I'm proud of my guys because our defensive effort was tremendous. We were locked in and much as we have been all year. Being able to control the game through our defense is one of the things we pride ourselves on."
QUOTING MAHONEY
"We put five guys on the court at all times that can go get you a bucket," said
August Mahoney, Yale's captain. "It's easy not to force anything when you can rely on your teammates, and you trust everyone."
NOTES
• Yale is in the Ivy Tournament championship game for the fourth straight season. The Bulldogs won in 2019 and 2022 and lost last year.
• Yale has now reached the championship game in five of the six tournaments overall.
• Cornell's 57 points were the second lowest of the season for the Big Red, who beat Dartmouth 56-53 on Feb. 2.
• Behind Wolf and Knowling, Yale outscored Cornell 32-18 in the paint.
• The Bulldogs outrebounded the Big Red 44-34. Yale had a rebounding edge of at least 10 in each of the three games with Cornell this season.
• The Bulldogs had assists on 15 of their 26 field goals.
• Yale knocked off the Big Red in the tournament semifinals for the second straight season. Last year, the Bulldogs beat Cornell 80-60 at Princeton's Jadwin Gym.
WHAT'S NEXT
Yale and Brown meet in the championship game on Selection Sunday at noon. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The winner earns the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
