NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's basketball's historic 2025-26 season came to an end on Tuesday evening, as UNCW outlasted the Bulldogs, 68-67, in the NIT First Round at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
 
The Seahawks improved to 27-6, and the Bulldogs closed out the season at 24-7.
 
Turning Point
After Samson Aletan tallied back-to-back dunks to extend the Yale lead to 51-46 with 9:40 to go in the second half, UNCW countered with a 9-0 run to take a 55-51 advantage. A Trevor Mullin three trimmed the deficit to one, but the Seahawks answered with a three of their own (58-54) with 5:34 to go. The Bulldogs answered with six straight points, highlighted by a three-point play from Nick Townsend, to take the lead back at 60-58 with 4:33 remaining. UNCW answered with a three that Mullin answered back with his second from deep of the night, but the Seahawks tallied one last three-pointer with 34 seconds to go to hold on for the win.
 
Notable Performances

• Celiscar paced the Bulldogs with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 at the line, while adding a game-high 12 rebounds and five assists.
• Casey Simmons contributed 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, going 3-of-4 from the free throw line, along with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
• Townsend finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while recording nine rebounds, five assists, and a steal.
• Mullin added seven points—six coming from three-point range—along with four rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.
• Aletan recorded four points and grabbed nine rebounds.
• Yale scored 34 points in the paint.
•  The Bulldogs dished out 16 assists on 25 made field goals.

 
Hear from Coach Jones
"Yeah, that's a tough way to end the season. I wrote on the board, after the coaches finished talking, '1907,' because that's the last time Yale had as many wins as we did this year. It's a shame we went out this way, but we were playing under very difficult circumstances. I think if we'd had another day of preparation, it might have been a different outcome. I have to tip my hat to UNCW for their performance—they played hard. Isaac was tremendous on both sides of the ball, doing everything he could to win. He's the kind of kid who's going to blame himself for missing that late, contested shot, but he did everything he could. We appreciate his effort, as well as everyone on the team."
 

Bulldog Notes

• Celiscar recorded his sixth double-double of the season.
• Townsend scored in double figures in 28 games this season.
• Celiscar capped off a stellar sophomore campaign with double-digit points in 23 games, including three performances of 20+ points.
•  Simmons closed out his Bulldog career with back-to-back double-digit performances, finishing fourth on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg), second in blocks (18), and fourth in rebounds (122). He also totaled 311 points, marking the best scoring season of his Yale career.
• Townsend concluded an outstanding Yale career with 1,178 points, 276 assists, and 579 rebounds. The senior logged exactly 1,000 minutes this season, scored 488 total points, led the team with 16.3 points per game, and earned Ivy League Player of the Year and First Team All-Ivy honors.
• The Bulldogs wrapped up a historic season, recording their seventh consecutive year with at least 10 Ivy League wins and securing a top-four league finish for the 25th straight season. Their 24 wins set a modern-era program record, and the team reached 20+ wins for the fourth consecutive year while capturing its eighth Ivy League title of the Jones era.
• The team's 24–7 record marked the best of the Jones era.
• The 2025–26 senior class of Devon Arlington, Townsend, and Simmons led the Bulldogs to three Ivy League regular-season titles, two Ivy League Tournament championships, and two NCAA Tournament appearances, highlighted by the program's second NCAA Tournament win in 2023–24 against Auburn.