NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Bez Mbeng broke the all-time program record for steals, and the Yale men's basketball team continued its winning ways with an 83-67 victory at home on Monday against Dartmouth. Yale improved to 10-6 (3-0 Ivy), and the Big Green fell to 7-9 (1-2 Ivy).
With his three steals in the game, Mbeng has 170 for his career, surpassing Alex Zampier (2006-10) who originally held the record at 167.
Turning Point
After Dartmouth led 37-32 with 3:26 to go in the first, the Bulldogs countered with a 9-0 run capped off by a
John Poulakidas three to take a 41-37 advantage into halftime. Yale then came out firing to start the second with another 9-0 run to take a 50-37 lead. The Bulldogs took their biggest advantage of the game at 20 (81-61) with 2:08 to go, and didn't look back the rest of the way.
Notable Performances
- Samson Aletan paced the Bulldogs with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, five rebounds, and tied a career-high with four blocks.
- Mbeng shot 7-of-12 from the field with 16 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.
- Nick Townsend had 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four rebounds and four assists.
- Poulakidas added 12 points and three rebounds.
- Casey Simmons notched 10 points and four rebounds.
- The Bulldogs outrebounded Dartmouth, 45-35.
Bulldog Notes
- 18 of Yale's points came off Big Green turnovers.
- The Bulldogs were dominant in the paint, recording 50 of their points.
- Townsend has tallied double figures in his past 11 games.
- For the 12th time in 16 games, Yale outrebounded its opponent.
- Yale is 6-0 at home for the first time since 2019-20.
- The Bulldogs have won four straight games.
Hear from Coach Jones
"I thought that Dartmouth played really hard against us. The first half was a struggle and a fight for every possession and it's something we have to do a better job at reacting sooner in games as opposed to waiting until halftime to make adjustments. I thought the difference in the game was the way we opened the second half, the defensive energy from the team was awesome. Five guys in double-figures, outrebounding them by 10, having 17 assists on 32 of our made baskets, just a really good overall game for Yale."
Looking Ahead
The Bulldogs will host Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 25. Tip is slated for 2 p.m.
