ITHACA, N.Y. – Three Bulldogs tallied double-figures, but Cornell tallied a decisive three-pointer with less than five seconds to go to edge the Yale men's basketball team, 72-69, on Friday evening at Newman Arena.
 
Cornell improved to 13-12 (6-6 Ivy) and Yale dropped to 21-5 (9-3 Ivy).
 

Turning Point
After Cornell stretched its lead to 56–43 with 12:45 remaining in the second half, the Bulldogs responded with 11 unanswered points, capped by a Casey Simmons layup to cut the deficit to 56–54. The Big Red answered with four points of their own, but Devon Arlington hit a clutch three-pointer to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance at 60–57.

The teams battled back and forth down the stretch, and after Cornell took a 69–63 lead with 2:40 to play, Yale scored six straight points, highlighted by a Nick Townsend layup with seven seconds remaining to tie the game at 69. Cornell, however, sank the decisive three-pointer with less than five seconds left to seal the win.
 

Notable Performances

• Simmons tallied 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, along with three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
• Townsend added 14 points, going a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line, with six rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
• Isaac Celiscar notched 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, with a team-high eight rebounds and two steals.
• Jordan Brathwaite chipped in nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, along with three rebounds.
• Devon Arlington contributed seven points on 2-of-3 shooting.
• Yale shot 63% (17-of-27) in the second half.
• The Bulldogs tallied 42 points in the paint.

 
Hear from Coach Jones
"We started out lousy in three of our last four games and put ourselves in a hole that we had to dig out of. It's great that the guys were able to fight back and get back into it, but we've got to do a better job of starting each half."
 

Bulldog Notes

• Celiscar has tallied double figures in 21 games this season.
• Arlington's seven points tied his career high.
• Townsend has notched double digits in 23 games this season.
• The loss snapped the Bulldogs' five-game winning streak.
• With Harvard's win over Princeton, the Bulldogs are now tied with the Crimson at 9-3 atop the league standings.
• Yale can clinch a share of the Ivy League title with a win over Columbia combined with a Harvard loss to Penn.

 
Up Next
Yale will close out its road swing at Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 28. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.