Yale men’s basketball clocks Quinnipiac, 88-62, in season opener

No Danny Wolf, no problem.

In its first game since the former Yale standout’s transfer to what should be a grateful Michigan program, Yale men’s basketball cruised to an 88-62 win over Quinnipiac Monday night in a battle of Whitney Avenue at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

And it wasn’t even that close.

Yale coach James Jones called it “a really good win for our program.” Quinnipiac has been picked by many to win the MAAC.

The Bulldogs fell behind 5-2 and then went on a 14-0 rally keyed by five points from senior John Poulakidas, the star of the Yale upset victory over Auburn in the NCAA Tournament in March.

The hosts went up 26-16, powered by 10-for-16 shooting and five offensive rebounds.

The first two Bulldogs off the bench were junior Casey Simmons and freshman Isaac Celiscar.

Celiscar made his presence known quickly with an old-fashioned three-point play.

The Bobcats switched from an ineffective man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone, and Yale encountered some shooting woes, going 0-for-6 from the field as the visitors from Hamden cut the deficit to 28-21.

Senior Bez Mbeng hit a three-pointer and Yale led by 41-29 at the half.

The lead ballooned to 49-31 on a junior Nick Townsend trey.

An emphatic Celiscar jam made it 72-49, and the game was effectively over.

Poulakidas led Yale with 19 points. In his collegiate debut, Celiscar registered 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds. Mbeng added 17 points.

Jones beamed about Celiscar, noting that after he first saw him in a tournament, he “wasn’t sure that we could get him.”

Jones, in his 26th year as Yale’s head coach, rarely plays frosh considerable minutes. Miye Oni and Mbeng were exceptions. Add Celiscar to that list, as he played nearly 25 minutes.

Yale outrebounded Quinnipiac 50-27 and 21-10 on the offensive glass.

Yale suffered free-throw shooting woes last season but went 21-for-27 from the charity stripe in Monday’s win.

Quinnipiac was led in scoring by junior Amarri Monroe with 23 points. Grad student Paul Otieno added eight rebounds.

Yale plays at Illinois Chicago on Friday before trekking to West Lafayette, Ind. to play No. 14 Purdue on Monday. The then-No. 14 Bulldogs bowed to the then-No. 3 Boilermakers, 78-56, in the Round of 64 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.