ITHACA, N.Y. – Isaac Celiscar tallied a career-high 27 points to lead four Bulldogs in double figures as the Yale men's basketball team took down Cornell in the Ivy Madness semifinals on Saturday at Newman Arena.
Yale, the No. 1 seed, advances to the tournament championship on Sunday and will face No. 3 Penn.
Turning Point
After Cornell cut Yale's lead to four, 72–68, with 7:52 remaining in the second half, the Bulldogs responded with a nine-point run. The surge was capped by a three-pointer from
Jordan Brathwaite, followed by three straight points from
Nick Townsend. The Big Red rallied late to trim the deficit to five, 81–76, with 1:30 left, but Yale sealed the game with seven consecutive points down the stretch, highlighted by clutch free throws from
Casey Simmons and
Trevor Mullin.
Notable Performances
- Celiscar delivered a sensational performance, finishing with a career-high 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting while adding six rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
- Mullin turned in a strong outing with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including three three-pointers. He also went a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists, with 12 of his points coming in the first half.
- Townsend contributed 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, along with a team-high six assists and two steals.
- Brathwaite recorded 14 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting, knocking down four three-pointers while adding three rebounds, two assists, a block and steal.
- Simmons chipped in five points, six rebounds and three assists.
- Yale shot 54.7% from the field (35-of-64) in the game.
- The Bulldogs recorded 21 assists on their 35 made baskets.
- Yale also totaled 46 points in the paint.
Hear from Coach Jones
"I first would like to tip my hat to the Cornell Big Red. They played a heck of a game, and at one point I looked down at the stat sheet and they were shooting 89%. It didn't seem like they missed a shot all day until the second half a little bit. I felt really good about our game plan and what we did trying to get into it. Trevor got us started off right offensively, and Isaac was steady throughout the game. We did a great job dominating the boards from watching the game, which was a big part of it, and that gives us an opportunity to move forward."
Bulldog Notes
- Townsend has scored in double figures in 26 games this season.
- Celiscar set career highs with 27 points and 12 made field goals.
- Brathwaite recorded a career-best field goals.
- Mullin's 20+ point performance was his third of the season.
- Yale has reached 20 or more wins in four consecutive seasons.
- The Bulldogs' 24–5 record is the best of the Jones era.
- Yale is in the Ivy Tournament championship game for the sixth straight season.
- The Bulldogs have now reached the championship game in seven of the eight tournaments overall.
- Yale's 24 wins marked a modern-day program record.
Up Next
The championship game will be on Sunday, Mar. 15 at noon on ESPN2. The Bulldogs look to punch their ticket to March Madness for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
