Yale men smother Monmouth, 76-44

Wire-to-wire wins are always satisfying.

Yale men’s basketball got one Thursday night at Monmouth, throttling the Hawks, 76-44, at the OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch, N.J.

The game wasn’t even that close, as Monmouth mustered a 9-0 run toward the end of the game with the result well in hand and Yale reserves on the floor.

Yale (10-3) opened up the game on a 10-2 run and took a commanding 40-19 lead into halftime, shooting 54% from the field and holding Monmouth (1-12) to 24% shooting.

“We got off to a good start, something that we’ve had a problem with so far this season,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We were connected defensively and did a great job getting stops.”

Sophomore forward Jack Molloy hit a three to key a 15-0 run that put Yale up 58-21.

Junior forward Yussif Basa-Ama was hit with a flagrant two foul and disqualified in the second half for using an elbow above his shoulder.

The Bulldogs were led by senior forward EJ Jarvis, who posted an efficient 16 points and 11 rebounds in 19 minutes. A dozen Bulldogs scored in the game.

The contest was Yale’s third without its leading scorer, junior forward Matt Knowling, out with a bicep injury.

With the win, Yale’s Ivy League-leading NET ranking is now No. 37. Cornell is the next-highest-ranking Ivy at No. 100.

Yale’s next action will come in its Ivy opener at Columbia on New Year’s Eve at noon.