Statistics don’t lie, and two of them stand out in Gonzaga’s 86-71 home win over Yale Friday night.
The Zags outrebounded Yale 42-28, and they outscored them 44-20 in the paint.
Yale punched the other Bulldogs in the mouth at the start, building a 16-6 lead. But the Zags clawed back to gain a 47-42 halftime advantage before a raucous McCarthey Athletic Center crowd of 6,000.
Yale shot 13-for-28 (46%) in the first half and 4-for-10 (40%) from three-point range before fading in the second stanza.
Gonzaga opened the second half on a 6-0 run. Yale cut it to 55-48 on a strong Yassine Gharram layup, but the Zags answered with a 13-3 run to put the game out of reach.
“Happy the way our guys competed for most of the game. We needed to give a 40-minute effort” Yale coach James Jones said.
Junior guard John Poulakidas paced Yale with 18 points on 4-for-5 shooting from three. Senior guard and captain August Mahoney pitched in 12 points, and junior guard Bez Mbeng and sophomore forward Nick Townsend each added 10.
Yale shot 41% from the field, bested by Gonzaga’s 50%.
Freshman forward Braden Huff led Gonzaga with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Yale is now 1-1 and faces 1-0 Loyola Marymount on the road Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.