All season, Yale has relied heavily on IHO Player of the Year Justin Sears. So it only made sense that with the season on the line, down two points to Quinnipiac with the game clock winding perilously low, the Bulldogs would find Sears– even if it wasn’t in his natural zone of dominance in the paint.
Instead, Sears caught the ball out on the wing, took a few dribbles, stepped back, and let fly on his 10th three-point attempt of the season (for reference sake, he’s taken 307 two-pointers). The ball hit glass, then net as the Yale crowd erupted in astonished euphoria, while Quinnipiac supporters that had made the trip down from Hamden stood slack-jawed. Yale 69, Quinnipiac 68. The referees reset the clock to :00.7, but the Bobcats’ full-court heave was picked out of the air by (who else?) Justin Sears and the Elis moved on to the second round of the CIT.
Javier Duren led Yale in scoring as the guard took to the floor looking significantly healthier than in the final weekend of conference play. Duren went for 17 points on 7-11 shooting, including 2-4 from downtown. Matt Townsend also made a major impact with 12 points on 5-7 shooting, coming up with some clutch buckets. Sears had an all-around game, going for 11 points, 8 rebounds (6 offensive), 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
The Bulldogs will learn their next opponent soon in the CIT’s second round.
Click below to see Sears’ game-winning shot (via thebasketballdiary)