Bulldogs Dominate On Glass, Outrebound Big Red 46-26

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale didn't have its best night shooting the ball, but the Bulldogs did more than enough in other areas to earn an important 62-51 victory over Cornell at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.

Yale (19-7, 8-1 Ivy) outrebounded the Big Red 46-26 and held Cornell to just 32 percent shooting from field.

Justin Sears (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Armani Cotton (10 points, 11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles, and Javier Duren added 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

The Bulldogs, who entered the night leading the Ivy League in three-point field goal percentage, were just 5-of-20 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.

"It's great to get a win when you don't play your best," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men's Basketball.

The victory keeps Yale tied with Harvard for first place in the Ivy League. The Crimson beat Penn 69-46.

Despite the off night from the field, the Bulldogs were never seriously challenged. Yale led 25-18 at halftime, and the advantage was double digits virtually the entire second half. Cornell's only leads of the night were 5-4 and 7-6 in the early going.

Galal Cancer paced the Big Red (12-13, 4-5 Ivy) with 19 points and Devin Cherry added 17. Shonn Miller, who came into the game second in the league in scoring, finished with nine points, nearly seven below his average, before fouling out.

Yale's dominance on the glass was the difference. The 20-rebound margin was the Bulldogs' second largest of the season against a Division I opponent. They outrebounded Lafayette by 27 on Thanksgiving Eve. Yale, which leads the league in rebounding margin, is now 16-1 this season when it outrebounds its opponents.

"We do rebounding drills every day in practice so the guys understand the importance of it," Jones said.

Cotton reached double figures in rebounding for the third time this season. Six of his boards came at the offensive end. In all the Bulldogs had 16 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 12 second chance points.

"Rebounding isn't about size. It's about chasing the ball and effort," said Cotton, who posted his second double-double of the season.

Added Jones, "Armani flies under the radar. People don't understand how good he is, and what he does for us."

Yale also got a strong contribution from its bench, which outscored Cornell's reserves 15-3. Greg Kelley and Anthony Dallier each scored five points, Sam Downey had three, and Makai Mason chipped in two.

"When you guard us, you have to worry about everyone scoring, and that's what makes us good," Jones said.

The Bulldogs have now won five straight over Cornell.

Yale hosts Columbia on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Lions cruised to a 76-59 win over Brown on Friday night. The Bulldogs will be looking to reach 20 overall wins for the first time since 2001-02 and only the sixth time in school history.

Report filed by Tim Bennett (timothy.bennett@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity