NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Another memorable season has come to an end for the Yale men's basketball team. The Bulldogs, though, gave every ounce of energy they had to try and keep it alive. Yale nearly came all the way back from an early 17-point deficit before falling to Vanderbilt 71-62 before 5,290 at Memorial Gymnasium in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.
The Commodores, who reached the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, scored the first 11 points of the game and had a 37-23 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs rallied in the second half, limiting Vandy to 32 percent shooting from the field. Yale closed to within three, 52-49, when
John Poulakidas hit two free throws with 6:30 left.
Vanderbilt, though, answered with the next six points. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to six but could get no closer as the Commodores hit their free throws down the stretch. Vandy was 17-of-22 from the foul line in the second half.
"We hunkered down and worked to get back in the game," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "I was proud of our effort."
August Mahoney paced the Bulldogs with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.
EJ Jarvis, Bez Mbeng and
Jack Molloy each added eight points. Poulakidas and
Yassine Gharram scored six points.
Tyrin Lawrence had 25 points and Ezra Manjon added 18 to lead Vanderbilt, who advances to play Michigan in the NIT second round.
Yale's bench outscored Vandy's reserves 19-8 in the game.
The Bulldogs were playing their third game in four days. Yale beat Cornell in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament on Saturday, fell to Princeton in a hard-fought championship game on Sunday afternoon, traveled back to New Haven later on Sunday and then flew from New York to Nashville on Monday.
The game was the final one for Yale seniors Jarvis,
Isaiah Kelly and
Michael Feinberg.
"This is a special class. They won four championships," Jones said. "They are the most decorated class in the school history."
Yale finishes with a 21-9 overall record. The Bulldogs shared the Ivy League regular season title and was the No. 1 seed in the league tournament.
"Any time you finish with single digit losses that's a special season," Jones said.
The Bulldogs certainly figure to be strong contenders again next season as four of their top five scorers return, including unanimous first team All-Ivy selection
Matt Knowling and Mbeng, the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year.
"Our future is very bright," Jones said. "March of 2024 will be here before you know it, and we will have to be ready."
