CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – One day after clinching the regular season title and No. 1 seed, Yale learned its opponent in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament, Presented by TIAA. The Bulldogs will face No. 4 seed Penn in the first semifinal next Saturday at 11 a.m. The Quakers earned the final spot with a win over Columbia on Saturday.
 
In its regular season finale, Yale fell to Harvard 83-69 before a packed house of 1,636 at Lavietes Pavilion.
 
Paul Atkinson scored 23 points to pace the Bulldogs, while Azar Swain added 13. Eric Monroe scored 11 points, Jalen Gabbidon had nine, and Jordan Bruner grabbed nine rebounds.
 
Harvard, though, shot nearly 51 percent from the field.
 
"We didn't play our brand of basketball. We weren't focused enough," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Our toughness level wasn't where it needed to be to win the basketball game."
 
Yale ends the regular season at 23-7 and 11-3 in Ivy play. The Bulldogs finished one game ahead of the second-place Crimson.
 
Early on, it looked like it might be another down-to-the wire battle between the two rivals. There were six lead changes in an opening 20 minutes that finished with the Crimson in front 36-32.
 
Harvard, though, seized control by opening the second half with a 7-1 run.
 
Justin Bassey paced the Crimson with 19 points. He was 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
 
The Bulldogs now turn their attention to preparing for Saturday's matchup with Penn. The two teams split the regular season series with each winning on its home floor.
 
"Hopefully we will have a great week of practice and be ready to go next weekend," Jones said.
 
No. 2 seed Harvard plays No. 3 Princeton in the second semifinal on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
The championship game is set for noon on Sunday.