Feb. 26, 2016 was a long time ago – so long ago that no member of the Yale men’s basketball team was even enrolled at Yale.
That was the last time which Yale beat Harvard in a regular season game, although Yale has won two Ivy League Tournament games against the Crimson in that span.
That ignominious streak ended last night, as Yale defeated Harvard, 58-55, at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
It was a loud and boisterous JLA, at that. Yale announced on the day of the game that undergraduate students were permitted to attend indoor sporting events. And they showed up in droves, comprising perhaps the largest student contingent at a Yale basketball game in recent memory.
“That’s what basketball and sports can do, galvanize a community,” coach James Jones said.
It was a strange game of tempo.
Yale (12-9, 6-1 Ivy) outscored Harvard (11-8, 3-4), 19-7, to grab a 27-14 halftime lead. Shades of Brown’s anemic point eight-point first-half outing at home against Harvard the night before. The Crimson were 6-for-23 from the field and 1-for-10 from three. Noah Kirkwood was held to two points. Azar Swain had 11 in the half for Yale, which also outrebounded Harvard, 20-11.
Harvard cut away at the lead in the second half as Kirkwood regained his shooting touch. The senior guard finished with 21 points.
A technical on Jones and a Kirkwood three cut the lead to 36-29 at the 11:59 mark. A Mason Forbes basket off of a Kirkwood assist made it 36-31.
Kirkwood scored again at the 6:13 mark to cut the deficit to 44-42. The Ottawa native contributed 15 of the Crimson’s 17 points in that run.
A Yale turnover with five seconds remaining gave Harvard the ball. Kirkwood attempted a trey with two seconds left, but it was off.
Yale then converted a free throw and a long Louis Lesmond shot to tie the game missed at the buzzer.
Matt Knowling had another strong outing for the Blue with 10 points. Jalen Gabbidon added nine, while junior guard Luke Sakota (another Ontario native) pitched in 12 for Harvard.
Yale managed 30 points in the paint to 20 for Harvard.
Yale and Harvard meet again on Wednesday night in Cambridge in a makeup game following a January 9 postponement due to COVID-19 concerns and safety protocols within Yale’s program.