PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Faced with a 16-point deficit early in the second half against the conference’s best team, Cornell staged a furious rally to get within a single possession on several occasions. But Yale always found a way to hold on and came away with a hard-fought 90-84 win to claim the 2025 men’s Ivy League Tournament championship.
“You know, it’s a hard game between us and Cornell, what you might expect playing the team a third time,” Jones told the media after the award ceremony. “I thought our guys battled and played really tough.”
Celebrating on the floor of Brown’s Pizzitola Sports Center, the Bulldogs (22-7) hoisted their second straight Ivy League Tournament trophy and fourth overall. James Jones’ squad, the first to win the conference tournament as the top seed since Princeton did it in 2017, will wait a few hours to hear its name called for next week’s NCAA Tournament.
“A tough game, obviously, Yale is really hard to beat, as someone in the tournament is going to find out in a week, Cornell coach Jon Jaques told the media immediately after the game. “You know, I thought we gave him a really good punch.”
The underdog Big Red (18-11) made eight of their first 15 shots, while holding Yale to 3-for-14 shooting to take an 18-11 lead by the 11:21 mark.
As junior Nick Townsend battled senior forward Guy Ragland Jr. in the paint, the First-Team All-Ivy forward found junior forward Casey Simmons streaking from the left baseline and fed him a perfect pass for an alley-oop layup that spurred a 7-0 run to tie the game.
After Townsend grabbed a long rebound and took it all the way for a layup to knot the game at 25, junior AK Okereke responded with a driving layup and was fouled. The First-Team All-Ivy forward sank the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three to give Cornell a three-point lead with 4:45 left in the half.
Senior guard Bez Mbeng went 1-for-2 from the free throw line to make it 28-26. Then Mbeng and his teammates forced the Big Red into a shot clock violation. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year slammed the ball to the ground, let out a scream and launched a three from the right baseline to give Yale its first lead of the afternoon.
Simmons then hit a triple from the same spot to stretch the advantage to six.
After first-year forward Isaac Celiscar completed an old-fashioned three and sophomore guard Trevor Mullin sank a midrange jumper from the left elbow, the Bulldogs were up 37-28.
Okereke got a driving layup to stop the 12-0 run and followed that up with two free throws to get the Big Red into the locker room down five, 37-32.
Yale was still up five early in the second half when Townsend hit a triple from the top of the key.
Senior guard John Poulakidas, who was 1-for-7 in the first half, sank a three from the right wing, a two from the right baseline and a deep three from the left wing to give the Bulldogs a 50-34 lead with 15:52 left in the contest.
“I thought at halftime I just needed one. I just needed to see one go through. Obviously, in the first half, I didn’t hit shots at the clip that I would like,” the Yale sharpshooter said. “I just told myself at halftime I had to stay patient and stay true to my faith. And, you know, God had my back.”
Things looked bleak for the No. 2 seed, but the Big Red bounced back in a big way.
Cornell went on a 14-2 run to make cut the deficit to four, 57-53.
Mullin got a three from the left elbow to make it a seven-point game, but a driving layup from senior guard Nazir Williams and a triple from Ragland made it 60-58 with nine minutes to go.
Like two heavyweights going toe to toe, Mbeng hit a three from the right side and Okereke followed with a layup.
Poulakidas was on fire, hitting another triple, coming off a screen and getting a feed from Mbeng. Not to be outdone, Okereke made an and-one play to keep it a three-point contest.
Another long ball from Mullin and a close-range hook shot by Townsend upped the lead to eight with six-and-a-half minutes left on the clock.
It was still an eight-point game with just over four minutes to go, when Okereke sank two free throws and Williams hit a driving layup to cut the deficit in half.
Townsend then hit an inside jumper over two defenders. On the next trip up, Yale got a steal, and Bez sent a layup over Ragland’s outstretched arm to make it 80-72 with only 2:28 to go.
After two Williams’ free throws, Townsend drives the left baseline for a successful layup to keep it an eight-point contest.
Sophomore guard Jake Fiegen got a layup to make in a six-point game, but Okereke committed his fifth foul on the next possession, and the Big Red’s leading scorer headed to the bench.
The teams both shot free throws, with Yale making one and Cornell hitting both, so it was 83-78 with one minute left.
Poulakidas was sent to the line, and the First-Team All-Ivy guard made both to up the lead to seven.
Williams answered with another driving layup to make it a five-point game, 85-80, but there was only 34 seconds on the clock.
Poulakidas made his next two shots from the charity stripe, but Williams missed his chance to get those points back, and Poulakidas grabbed the rebound to effectively end the contest, giving the Bulldogs a sweep of the regular season and tournament titles.
The Bulldogs completed the day shooting 50% from the field, including a 56% (13-for-23) effort from three. The Big Red connected on 56% of their overall shots, but their 41% (11-for-27) effort from three, including 20% (3-for-15), wasn’t enough to overcome the hot Bulldogs.
Poulakidas led the way for Yale, totaling 25 points, 23 of which came in the second half. Mbeng added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Townsend had 19 points and five boards.
For the Big Red, Okereke had 22 points and eight rebounds, Williams had 20 points and Ragland totaled 16 with four triples.
For his actions in the second half, as well as his clutch triples in Saturday’s semifinal win against Princeton, Poulakidas was name the Ivy League Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Mbeng and Okereke joined Poulakidas on the All-Tournament team, but somehow, Townsend, who had a double-double on Saturday, didn’t make the tournament’s top five.
The Big Red and their first-year head coach exceeded expectations this year and will use Sunday’s game as experience for when Cornell hosts next year’s Ivy League Tournament. Yale, however, has its sights set on a big run in this year’s NCAA Tournament, an event in which it has claimed two first-round upsets under Jones.
“If we go out and do what we’re capable of, you know, hopefully we can have a little bit more fun,” Jones said as he closed out his press conference. “I’m bringing two suits on the trip, though.”