Yale men’s basketball was finally tested but survived a Stony Brook scare and hung on for an 86-79 win Saturday at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
The Bulldogs (3-0) held a narrow 40-38 halftime lead over the Seawolves (3-1), who went 8-for-14 from three-point range in the stanza.
Yale was up 46-43 and then went on a 15-6 run, keyed by two threes by senior forward Nick Townsend.
Stony Brook cut the score to 74-70 at the 2:12 mark. Then junior guard Trevor Mullin hit a key trey and Yale never looked back.
Five Bulldogs were in double figures, led by sophomore guard Riley Fox with 21. Townsend finished with 19, to go along with nine rebounds and a team-high six assists.
“Stony Brook played really well,” coach James Jones said. “They made shots. We were not connected defensively.”
Fox, often compared to graduated star John Poulakidas, said, “I’ve learned a lot from John.”
Graduate student Erik Pratt led Stony Brook with 22 points.
Yale next hosts Rhode Island of the A-10 at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Some observations:
Leader: Townsend is the first Yale captain in three years to be a starter. He makes his voice heard on and off the court.
By committee: Jones used three point guards: Mullin, sophomore Jordan Brathwaite and first-year Courtney Wallace.
Shortening the rotation: After using as many as 13 players in the first two games, Jones went with a shorter rotation of eight, with six players playing over 20 minutes.
The pesky Seawolves were hot from 3 but fouled frequently putting Yale in the bonus quickly each half.