Richard Kent

How the Yale men pulled off an improbable comeback to upend Penn

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In a game strewn with improbabilities, the most improbable stat was Yale rallying from down 10 with 1:38 remaining to upend Penn, 76-73, before 2,106 screaming fans at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Sure, AJ Brodeur had 25 points and Devon Goodman 23 for Penn in a losing effort, but the number which jumps off the page from the stat sheet is five.
That’s how many steals Yale defensive specialist Jalen Gabbidon pocketed, three of which came during the final 98 seconds.

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Yale avoids letdown at Columbia in 83-65 win

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 It had all the makings of a perfect storm.
The almost five-hour drive from Cornell to Columbia at 10 p.m. The double overtime expenditure of energy in Newman Arena that preceded it. Yale was ripe for the taking.
Until it wasn’t.

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Yale completes season sweep of Cornell, takes sole possession of third place

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If revenge was the motive, then call it mission accomplished for Yale.
Cornell swept Yale last season to knock the Bulldogs out of Ivy League Tournament contention. Yale completed this season’s sweep of the Big Red last night at John J. Lee Amphitheater, 65-51.
The game was nip and tuck early on, but Yale (16-6, 6-3 Ivy) ended the half with a 32-27 lead behind the clutch shooting of Ellen Margaret Andrews. The Bulldogs were 4-for-6 from 3 in the first half. Andrews posted 18 points for the game to lead her squad.

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Penn bests Yale at the Palestra

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No one has ever pretended that the Princeton-Penn road trip is an easy one. Not even for the Ivy League leader.
Yale fell victim to a noisy and boisterous Palestra and too much AJ Brodeur and Eddie Scott, as the Quakers upset the Elis, 69-61, Saturday night.

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No. 25 Princeton stymies Yale, 55-39

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There are 13 people on a basketball court at any one time. One never should focus on three of them.
Unfortunately, the focus was on them in the first half of the Princeton-Yale battle at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
And they were equal-opportunity malfeasants. You won’t hear that from Princeton coach Carla Berube or Yale coach Allison Guth. They are too classy.
But the officials made some mind-jarring calls which led to both Yale standout Roxy Barahman and Princeton star Bella Alarie ending up on the bench early.
Princeton, ranked No. 25 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll, beat Yale, 55-39, before a sparse crowd of 551 at JLA. Princeton (18-1, 6-0 Ivy) had a large and vocal following behind its bench. Former UConn great and National Player of the Year Kara Wolters was present to support her former college teammate Berube.

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Yale rebounds against Dartmouth, 75-57

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It would have made sense if Yale had come out with a hangover Saturday night against Dartmouth at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
It would have made even more sense if Azar Swain missed his first few shots after missing a would-be game-tying free throw against Harvard and having 24 hours to think about it.
Neither happened as Yale raced out to a 23-9 lead. James Jones is strong-willed, and Swain also shares this attribute. Swain came out hot and Yale beat the Big Green, 75-57.

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Yale comeback falls just short versus Harvard

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It was an ending that even the great Steven Spielberg could not have scripted.

Harvard traveled to John J. Lee Amphitheater Friday night in desperate need of a win after losing to Penn and Princeton on the road last weekend. The Ivy schedule makers dealt the Crimson a very tough early-season hand.

Harvard eked out a dramatic 78-77 win after Azar Swain hit a clutch three with one second left, was fouled by Rio Haskett and after a seemingly endless wait on the free throw line due to an official review of the time remaining, missed the free throw.

Harvard’s Rio Haskett after being called for what could have been a game-changing foul on Azar Swain as Swain hit a three with Yale trailing 78-74 with 0.9 seconds left at Yale Friday. But Azar Swain couldn’t complete the four-point play after a four-minute-long official review resulted in the addition of 2.1 seconds to the game clock, and the Crimson left New Haven with a victory by the slimmest of margins. | Photo by Erica Denhoff
Swain was brilliant in the second half ,scoring 27 of his game-high 33 points in that stanza. He almost single-handedly brought Yale back from a 13-point deficit in the last five minutes of the game resulting from a 9-0 run in a game played before a boisterous and student-laden sellout crowd of 2,706.
Harvard led 45-32 at the half, fueled by 19-for-33 (57.6%) shooting from the field, including 6-for-11 (54.5%) from three en route to an 8-for-19 (42.1%) showing from long range on the night. Yale finished the game just 7-for-22 (31.8%) from deep.
Harvard standout big man Chris Lewis (0) s scored just four points Friday at Yale, but Robert Baker scored 10 points and was one of five different Crimson players to hit at least one three-pointer in Harvard’s 78-77 win. Harvard shot 42.1% from outside, besting Yale’s clip of 31.8%. | Photo by Erica Denhoff
Noah Kirkwood had 18 points and Danilo Djuricic posted a pivotal 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
Paul Atkinson had a career-high 28 points on an efficient 11-for-16 from the field predicated upon fleet footwork which consistently befuddled numerous Harvard defenders.
Jordan Bruner was held to three points.
Harvard outrebounded Yale, 35-30, a feat almost never accomplished at JLA. The Elis trailed 71-59 with 5:42 to play but clawed back with 11 points from Swain the rest of the way, including three triples in the final 2:25. Yale had just dug too deep a hole.
“We need to get contributions from everyone,” Yale coach James Jones said.
 “It was hard-fought,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “We were fortunate to win.”
Yale now sits at 16-5 and 4-1 in the Ivy and Harvard at 14-6 and 3-2.
Noah Kirkwood celebrates after Harvard completed a 78-77 victory at Yale Friday. Kirkwood notched a team-high 18 points for the Crimson. | Photo by Erica Denhoff

Yale men outshoot Cornell in 86-71 home win

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It was the Azar Swain show on Saturday night at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
The junior guard torched Cornell for 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting and 6-for-8 from three-point land as Yale beat Cornell, 86-71, before a crowd of 1,506. Cornell hung tight in the first half and was only behind at the end of the half by a 42-39 score. The Big Red made a run in the second half, but whenever things got tight, Swain seemed to come up with a big three.

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Yale men complete sweep of Brown

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It was the Paul Atkinson and Matthue Cotton show at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, as Yale completed the sweep of Brown with a 73-62 win Friday night.
Both teams opened up cold from the field, and turnovers were the order of the day in the early going.
Yale coach James Jones brought Cotton in and the quick shooting sophomore guard from New Jersey hit four of his first five three-point shots to distance the league-leading Bulldogs from the Bears.
Yale led 33-25 at the half. Yale’s trademark defense forced high-scoring Brown into numerous off balance threes. The Bears focused largely on Jordan Bruner, who had torched Brown in New Haven.
The second half saw more of the same, as Atkinson scored inside on some nifty feeds and Cotton and dagger-shooting Azar Swain from the outside.
Reserve Wyatt Yess had another solid game for Yale with seven key rebounds.
Brown cut the deficit to six on two occasions late in the game, but an inside move by Atkinson and a three by Swain from the parking lot ended Brown’s bid.
Atkinson finished with 24 and Cotton with a career-high 20, with 15 coming in the first half. Bruner was held to two and had eight rebounds to lead Yale. Eric Monroe and Swain had 10 each.
“Really impressed with our team,” Jones said. “I knew Brown would be ready and give us their best. Our young men stepped up to the challenge.”
Brandon Anderson led Brown with 20 points and Tamenang Choh chipped in with 11 and a game-leading 12 rebounds.

Yale now sits at 14-4, 2-0 Ivy and Brown at 7-8, 0-2.
Both teams start Ivy back-to-backs next weekend, with Columbia at Yale and Cornell at Brown on Friday evening.