John J. Lee Amphitheater

Yale men’s basketball beats Cornell, 92-88, to clinch share of Ivy League title

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Yale men’s basketball is honored postgame after it clinched a share of the Ivy League championship at John J. Lee Amphitheater Friday night with a 92-88 win over Cornell. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Embarrassing and humiliating were words thrown around by Cornell last week after a brutal thrashing at the hands of Dartmouth, a loss so bad it dropped the Big Red 35 slots in KenPom. More importantly, the defeat put the Big Red in Ivy League Tournament peril because it was their third straight loss and a trip to unbeaten Yale happened to be next.

Another word was prevalent at practice in Ithaca: pride. The Big Red showed plenty of it Friday night at Lee Amphitheater, pushing the Bulldogs around and leading by double digits for most of the first half.

But Yale has plenty of pride as well, of course, and in the end gutted out a 92-88 victory that clinched it a share of its sixth Ivy League title in 10 years in a tremendous showcase of Ivy League basketball.

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Yale men’s basketball survives Penn scare, 72-71

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It took a lay-in by freshman forward Isaac Celiscar off a nifty assist from junior forward Nick Townsend assist with eight seconds remaining to give Yale a 72-71 win over upset-minded Penn at John J. Lee Amphitheater Friday..

“We were trying to iso [senior guard] John [Poulakidas] and Nick,” Yale coach James Jones said. “Nick is as unselfish as they come.”

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“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 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 vanquishes Vermont – without Yassine Gharram

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Yale and Vermont tip off for what became a 65-50 win for the former over the latter Saturday. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online}

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale broke a two-game losing streak with an impressive second half Saturday afternoon at Lee Amphitheater, allowing exactly half as many points as the last time we saw the Bulldogs at Mohegan Sun two weeks ago in a 65-50 win over Vermont, albeit a struggling and undermanned Catamounts team.

The big personnel news of the day was that Yale’s leading scorer (and 16th nationally) John Poulakidas was not in uniform. The Bulldogs’ offense struggled mightily without him in the first half, scoring just 22 points and turning the ball over 13 times. Sophomore Trevor Mullin got his first career start, but it was Bez Mbeng who had six of those turnovers.

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Yale men’s basketball demolishes Fairfield, 91-66

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Revenge is sweet.

Yale exacted some against Fairfield Saturday, 91-66, in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun.

Last season, Fairfield stunned Yale, 75-71, at John J. Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs wouldn’t let that happen again en route to what became the 400th win of his coaching career.

“That was a really good Yale basketball win,” Jones said, adding that the 400-win achievement “[j]ust means I have been around a long time.”

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Yale men’s basketball clocks Quinnipiac, 88-62, in season opener

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No Danny Wolf, no problem.

In its first game since the former Yale standout’s transfer to what should be a grateful Michigan program, Yale men’s basketball cruised to an 88-62 win over Quinnipiac Monday night in a battle of Whitney Avenue at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

And it wasn’t even that close.

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Yale men’s basketball looks to defend Ivy Madness title

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Ivy men’s media day was held virtually Tuesday. Veteran Yale coach James Jones was last to speak and in attendance for the Bulldogs with him were seniors Bez Mbeng and John Poulakidas.

Yale is coming off of an Ivy Madness title and a first-round upset of heavily favored Auburn last March. The Bulldogs have been slated by the Ivy media to finish second in league behind Princeton.

Jones noted that his team is “excited” that the season will start in three weeks and is anxious to play against competition.

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Yale men’s basketball bests Harvard, 80-60

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Yale men’s basketball picked the right time of the year to peak.

The Bulldogs thrashed Harvard, 80-60, at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday night to move to persist in sharing the Ivy League’s top slot with Princeton.

“We had as good a start to finish as we have had in a long time,” coach James Jones said.

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Yale men’s basketball dispatches Dartmouth, 80-56

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“It was Yale basketball,” Yale coach James Jones said. ”We did what we want to: defense, rebounding and sharing the ball. We managed the game.”

For the Bulldogs, game management meant a convincing 80-56 win over outmanned Dartmouth Friday at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

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