Yale men’s basketball held a 12-point halftime lead at Rhode Island after having led by as many as 18 points in the first half.
And then Yale’s wheels fell off.
Yale was outscored by 16 in the second stanza en route to a 74-70 loss at the Ryan Center, tumbling to 4-3 on the season.
The Elis played without Matt Knowling, who was out with what appears to be a minor injury.
Yale dominated the first half, shooting 58% from the field and 46% from three-point range while committing only three turnovers. Junior guard Bez Mbeng rung up 13 points and sophomore forward Danny Wolf pitched in 12.
The Rams did manage an 8-0 run late in the stanza and looked more fluid as the half progressed.
Rhode Island coach Archie Miller made a lineup change in the second half, starting redshirt sophomore guard Brandon Weston and modified the team defense, which led to redshirt junior forward Josaphat Bilau effectively taking away Yale’s first-half baseline drives.
The Rams went on a 15-5 run to start the half.
Rhode Island dominated the second half from start to finish and finally took the lead at 59-57 off a three by junior guard Luis Kortright with 8:11 to play.
The Rams went up 63-60 before Yale junior guard John Poulakidas knotted it at 63 on a trey.
The score was tied at 70 when Rhode Island junior guard Jaden House hit a driving layup with 2;34 left. A bucket by junior guard Zek Montgomery put Rhody up 74-70, and Yale played catchup to no avail from then on out.
Rebounding is Yale’s calling card, but the visitors were outrebounded 40-26 and 25-11 in the pivotal second half.
“Tough loss, we wasted some nice offensive performances with a lack of toughness on the defensive end and most specifically on the glass,” Yale coach James Jones said.
Wolf led Yale with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Mbeng added 18.
Kortright scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half to lead Rhody.
Yale hosts Stony Brook on Wednesday at 7 p.m.