ITHACA, N.Y. – Yale is back in sole possession of first place in the Ivy League. But it sure didn't come easily.
August Mahoney's layup with two seconds left in double overtime lifted the Bulldogs to a thrilling 81-80 victory over Cornell at Newman Arena.
The victory improved Yale to 7-2 in Ivy play, one game ahead of Princeton, Harvard and Brown, who all sit at 6-3.
Mahoney's winning play came after Terrance McBride had given the Big Red the lead with a backdoor layup with 13 seconds left.
Eric Monroe drove to the basket and found a cutting Mahoney, who finished with his left hand in traffic.
"We practice that every day," said Mahoney a first year who finished with nine points. "A guard on the wing has to cut. It creates movement, it creates open shots. Eric is a great passer, he found me, and I put it in."
Yale (19-6 overall) got a very balanced attack, led by
Jordan Bruner, who posted the first triple-double in school history. Bruner finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
It's only the third triple double in Ivy League history. Dartmouth's Ian McGinnis recorded the feat in 2001 vs. Colgate with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Brown's Jason Forte did it vs. Dartmouth in 2004, with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
"I've been wondering when it's going to happen. He's been close quite a few times," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We needed every part of that triple double to win."
Paul Atkinson added 16 points for the Bulldogs, leaving him three shy of 1,000 for his career.
Eric Monroe scored 15 points and had seven assists,
Azar Swain scored 12 points and
Jalen Gabbidon had nine points.
It was an uphill battle for much of the game for Yale. The Big Red had a 37-32 lead at halftime and was ahead by six with 5:53 remaining.
The Bulldogs, though, showed tremendous determination. Swain's three-pointer with 1 minute left tied the score at 60-60 and forced the first overtime.
In the second overtime, it was a Gabbidon trey that tied the score at 69-69 late.
"We were very fortunate to win," Jones said. "Cornell played really well. They had a game plan and they executed it."
The Bulldogs have little time to savor the win. They are at Columbia on Saturday night. Tipoff at Levien Gym is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on SNY with video also available from ESPN+
