Total domination. There’s no other way to describe Yale’s 103-88 win over Cornell at Newman Arena, in a battle between two of the top three teams in the Ivy League standings.
Cornell (13-7, 5-2 Ivy) led 44-40 in a nip-and-tuck battle in which neither team held more than a five-point lead.
Cornell senior forward Guy Ragland Jr. picked up two early fouls and sat out most of the first half, playing a total of 15 minutes.
Yale (14-6, 7-0) then went on an 18-0 run,14-0 to close the first half, to lead 58-44. Cornell got no closer than 13 (101-88).
“One of the best offensive performances that I’ve seen a Yale team have,” coach James Jones said.
Senior guard John Poulakidas had a career-high 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting. Poulakidas drove to the basket, hit midrange shots and converted on six of 10 trey attempts.
Senior guard Bez Mbeng notched the second triple-double in Yale basketball history (Jordan Bruner at Cornell in 2020 had the other) with 15 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
“It felt great,” said Mbeng. “I want to thank my teammates.”
Junior forward Nick Townsend registered a career-high 25 points on 11-for-13 shooting.
Cornell made 15 treys and had a 32-14 advantage in fastbreak points, but the Bulldogs dominated the paint, 52-34. They shot a season-high 62.5% from the field.
Junior guard Cooper Noard led Cornell with a career-high 28 points. He hit six triples.
Yale last won at Newman Arena in 2020.
The Elis now have a 2-game lead over Princeton and Cornell.
Yale host Penn at 6 pm on Friday and Cornell plays at Harvard at 7 pm on Friday.
Tough loss for Cornell but have to give credit to Yale for playing like the great team they are. Scary to think where they would be if their 7 foot center Danny Wolf had not transferred to Michigan where he is dominating. Gave up a Yale degree and what would have been a very special season at Yale, but given NIL money and his NBA prospects, who can blame him. If Yale plays this way in the Ivy tournament they will be unbeatable-hopefully they will have an off day and another team can sneak in with Yale getting an at large bid. Meanwhile, great game by Cooper Noard for the Big Red and hopefully they can rebound at Harvard and Yale this weekend. Key will be finishing 2nd or 3rd and avoiding Yale in the first round of the Ivy LEague tournament. PS Great job by Adam Hinton also coming off the bench-he is making a case for more playing time.