It would have made sense if Yale had come out with a hangover Saturday night against Dartmouth at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
It would have made even more sense if Azar Swain missed his first few shots after missing a would-be game-tying free throw against Harvard and having 24 hours to think about it.
Neither happened as Yale raced out to a 23-9 lead. James Jones is strong-willed, and Swain also shares this attribute. Swain came out hot and Yale beat the Big Green, 75-57.
Yale (17-5, 5-1 Ivy) held a lead of 40-36 at the half, as the visitors shot 53.8% from the field, connecting often from three-point land.
The second half was the polar opposite. Dartmouth (7-15, 0-6) was held to 21 points on 32% shooting.
Swain led Yale in scoring with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-8 from three. Paul Atkinson chipped in with 17 and junior Wyatt Yess, making his first Yale start, added 11 points as Jordan Bruner sat out with a banged up knee.
Yess was very happy with the performance, stating about his starting nod, “I found out today. I was a little nervous.”
“Wyatt was terrific,” Jones said. “We have a next man up mentality.”
The Bulldogs now sit alone stop the topsy turvy Ivy pending the outcome of Princeton-Columbia later today.