Yale men’s basketball took its first loss of the 2025-26 season Tuesday night at John J. Lee Amphitheater, squandering a 10-point second-half lead and falling tamely to KenPom No. 102 Rhode Island, 86-77.
The Rams (4-1) went on a 17-6 run to grab a 57-56 lead and hold off the Bulldogs (3-1). The visitors were more physical than Yale in the second half and outscored them, 46-31, in the frame.
“We did a poor job of getting back [on defense],” Yale coach James Jones said. “They have some quickness there [at guard].”
Yale led 46-40 at the half on 53% shooting and continued its torrid season surge in the first half from three-point range, shooting 6-for-13.
The Rams doubled Yale’s leading scorer, senior forward Nick Townsend, and forced him into three turnovers and only 1-for-3 shooting from long range.
“We’ve got to learn from this,” the captain said.
Yale was leading the country in three-point shooting (50.8%) leading into the game. But the Bulldogs were only 6-for-18 for the game and 0-5 for the second half.
Redshirt junior guard Jonah Hinton torched Yale with 24 points, hitting five treys.
Townsend led Yale in scoring with 18 points. Junior center Samson Aletan added 15.
Yale takes an early Wednesday morning flight to the U.S. Virgin Islands to participate in the Paradise Jam. The Bulldogs are the No. 1 seed and will face Green Bay at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. They will play three games in the eight-team tourney, concluding on Monday.