Yale

“We jumped on them quick”: Yale men’s basketball routs Harvard, 84-55

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Harvard and Yale tip off Saturday at John J. Lee Amphitheater, where the Bulldogs dominated in an 84-55 win. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale students were back at Lee Amphitheater, Harvard was starting three freshmen, John Poulakidas hit his first couple of shots, and all that meant the Crimson had no chance Saturday afternoon.

Harvard fought in fits and starts, but in the end, the result was a formality, an 84-55 Yale win that brought the Bulldogs to the top of the Ivy League after Princeton’s loss and setting up a showdown with the Tigers Friday night in New Jersey.

“We jumped on them quick,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We were really efficient, we didn’t have a turnover (in the first 19 minutes), we were poised and focused. We lost it a little at the end of the first half and fought to get it back, and we did in the middle of the second half. When we’re playing at a high level like we were, we’re pretty good and it’s fun to watch.”

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Yale women’s basketball heads for Harvard with losing skein snapped

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Seventy-seven days is a long time in a college hoops season of about 130 days.

It was an especially long time for Yale women’s basketball coach Dalila Eshe, since that was the length of time between her team’s opening-night win over Monmouth in November and a victory on Monday at Dartmouth.

Yale (2-15, 1-3 Ivy) upset Dartmouth (8-9, 2-2) 70-67 behind 22 points from senior forward Grace Thybulle.

“Grace had an incredible game,” Eshe said.

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Yale men’s basketball still has room for improvement after downing Dartmouth

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Dartmouth and Yale tip off at John J. Lee Amphitheater Monday for what became an 83-67 win for the latter over the former. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Bez Mbeng was not in the mood for mincing words after setting Yale’s all-time career steals record in an 83-67 win over Dartmouth Monday afternoon.

“I love defense,” Mbeng, who passed former Yale standout Alex Zampier (2006-10) for the record, said.

And as he has for most of the last three seasons for Yale, Mbeng led the way in that department Monday at Lee Amphitheater, harassing Ryan Cornish, Connor Amundsen, or whomever else he was in the neighborhood of, finishing with three steals to go with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

“It means a lot to me,” Mbeng said. “A lot of credit goes to my teammates and coaches for getting me better and putting me in good positions to get those steals. I’m just really thankful right now.”

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Yale men’s basketball outlasts Columbia, 92-88

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It was billed as a battle between the two top Ivy scorers. And it lived up to expectations.

Senior guard John Poulakidas notched 29 points, one off his career high, to lead Yale to a 92-88 win over Columbia at Levien Gym Saturday.

“I take my work and my craft very seriously,” Poulakidas said. “We have a team full of dogs.”

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Yale men’s basketball bests Brown, 79-58, in Ivy League opener

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Two teams with strong revenge motives met at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday.

Brown had defeated Yale on the last day of the regular season last year (84-81) to prevent Yale from sharing the regular season Ivy title with Princeton.

But then Yale overcame a six-point deficit with 27 seconds left to defeat Brown in the Ivy League championship game in March, 62-61.

It was Yale that prevailed Saturday in the rematch, 79-58.

“Really good team win for us. We got contributions from everyone,” Yale coach James Jones said.

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Rivalry games are tough, but Harvard women’s basketball bests Yale, 61-43

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“Don’t let up, pedal on the gas,” Carrie Moore said midway through the third period with Harvard women’s basketball building a scoring run against Yale.

Moore’s Crimson defeated host Yale, 61-43, in a surprisingly competitive game Saturday to open Ivy League play.

Consider that Harvard (12-1, 1-0 Ivy) had already defeated Boston University by 60 (86-26) and Yale had fallen to the Terriers, 77-56, just last week.

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A look at Yale men’s basketball entering Ivy League play

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The out-of-conference portion of the Yale men’s schedule ended today with an emphatic 93-65 win over visiting Howard.

Yale (7-6) was picked to finish second behind Princeton in the Ivy media preseason poll.

So what have we learned about Yale?

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Yale men’s basketball narrowly clipped by UTEP in Sun Bowl Invitational final

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James Jones’ team is growing up quickly before his eyes – both out of skill and necessity.

With leading scorer and senior guard John Poulakidas still sidelined with a foot injury, senior guard Yassine Gharram off the team and junior forward Casey Simmons injured, the Bulldogs staged a ferocious second-half rally and fell narrowly to UTEP in the final of the Sun Bowl Invitational Saturday, 75-74.

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Yale men’s basketball downs Akron, 74-58, in El Paso

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The bad news is that Yale had 18 turnovers.

The good news is that Yale outrebounded the Akron Zips, 47-25, in the first round of the Sun Bowl Invitational en route to a convincing 74-58 win at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas Friday. Yale (6-5) will face the winner of the UTEP-Jackson State game Saturday night for the tournament championship.

“Great team rebounding effort tonight,” Yale coach James Jones said.

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Yale men’s basketball falls at Rhode Island, 84-78

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No one ever accused Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones of playing an easy out-of-conference schedule.

Yale traveled to Kingston, R.I. to take on the 7-0 Rhode Island Rams Monday night.

Rhody won 84-78 to start the season 8-0 for the first time since the 1946-47 season.

Jones called it “a tough loss on the road.”

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