NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, and the Yale men's basketball team shot 50% from the field to defeat Stony Brook, 86–79, in Saturday afternoon's home opener at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
The Bulldogs improved to 3-0, and the Seawolves dropped to 3-1.
Turning Point
After a tightly contested first half that ended with Yale up 40–38, the Bulldogs pushed the tempo in the second. A Stony Brook jumper cut the lead to 46–43 at the 17:27 mark, but Yale responded from long range. The Bulldogs' next 15 points came from three-point shots, including two deep makes from
Nick Townsend, stretching the margin to 61–49. Stony Brook continued to battle, pulling within 74–70 with 2:12 remaining after a three-pointer, but
Trevor Mullin answered with a clutch triple, putting the game out of reach for good.
Notable Performances
- Riley Fox led the Bulldogs with 21 points and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
- Townsend tallied 19 points, including 12 from three-pointers, and added nine rebounds and team-high six assists.
- Isaac Celiscar scored 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting, went a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line, and contributed nine rebounds and three assists.
- Casey Simmons notched 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
- Samson Aletan recorded 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, with four rebounds and a team-high three blocks.
- Yale shot 52.6% (10-of-19) from three-point range overall and 66.7% (6-of-9) from three in the second half.
- The Bulldogs tallied 26 points in the paint.
Bulldog Notes
- Fox, Celiscar, and Townsend have all reached double figures in each of the team's first three games.
- Fox set a career high with eight made free throws.
- Townsend matched his career best with four made three-pointers.
- Fox has scored 20 or more points in two of the first three games.
- Celiscar's nine rebounds tie his career high.
- The Bulldogs have started the season 3-0, marking their first undefeated start since 2022-23.
- Yale has won the last four meetings against Stony Brook.
Hear from Coach Jones
"Stony Brook played really well today. I thought they made shots, and they were able to stretch our defense out a bit because they made eight threes in the first half. We were not connected well enough offensively to get stops, which hurt us. A lot of individual play by them hurt us, and we have to do a better job of cleaning that up. But we grinded enough to get the game. It's always hard to win a college basketball game, so we're thankful for that. There were some good things we did, but we certainly have to get better on the defensive end."
Up Next
The Bulldogs will host Rhode Island on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.
