Yale knocks off Harvard to claim Ivy’s NCAA Tournament berth
NEW HAVEN, CONN. >> When you sign up to play for Yale, there’s no better feeling than beating rival Harvard.
To do it for the Ivy League Tournament championship makes it even sweeter.
Alex Copeland scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half and the second-seeded Bulldogs pulled away in the final 12 minutes to defeat the topseeded Crimson, 97-85, in the title game at John J. Lee Amphitheater on Sunday afternoon.
“Getting to do this against Harvard at home, it’s an unbelievable feeling,” senior center Blake Reynolds said. “This (senior) class, we got a taste of that tournament berth our freshmen year and we’ve been hungry for it throughout our career. To be able to punch our tournament berth today at home in front of all our friends and family is an unbelievable feeling.”
Yale (22-7) qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time, while Harvard (18-11) settles for a place in the NIT.
“I was thinking about both sides of it even during the game, like ‘Oh my god, what if they come back, I’m going to cry so much,’” Copeland said. “If we win, I’m going to cry. Visualizing those moments, it’s been going on for so long, and to be talking about them next to these guys, it feels so good.”
Copeland took over after Miye Oni, the Ivy Player of the Year, went to the bench with four fouls at the 14:13 mark. Copeland had 12 of his points while Oni sat, including eight during a decisive 15-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 14-point advantage with 8:30 remaining.
“He’s quick as a cat,” said Yale coach James Jones, who won his 310th career game to tie Fran Dunphy for second most in Ivy League history. “He’s like a bull that sees red and he’s just gone. A couple times, I tried to slow him down, but to no avail. He drove right past me and right past anybody in front of him to get to his spot and pull up.”
Copeland said his first thought after Oni picked up his fourth fouls was “bad call,” but then knew he had to take over for him team.
“We started to play with a lot more pace and energy on offense,” Copeland said. “Seeing other guys make shots, and then I got one in transition, and we all started to feed off each other. When we play with that energy and pace on offense, we can be dangerous.”
Yale shot 60.4 percent from the field and 93.3 percent (28for-30) from the free throw line. It went 44-for-46 on free throws over the two games this weekend.
The Bulldogs needed every bit of that offensive performance to survive a 38-point barrage from Harvard star Bryce Aiken. The junior tried to bring the Crimson back after Yale surged in front by 14, but they couldn’t get any closer than nine.
Oni finished with 17 points, Azar Swain added 15 and Reynolds had 14 for the Bulldogs.
Noah Kirkwood scored 19 for Harvard.
The last time Yale was in the NCAA Tournament in 2016, it knocked off Baylor in a firstround upset. Given how good the Ivy League has been this season, nobody is looking forward to drawing the Bulldogs.
“It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they go on a run in the tournament,” Crimson coach Tommy Amaker said. “They’re good enough, they’re talented enough, and hopefully, they’re healthy enough. Absolutely, they’ll have a chance to do some damage in the tournament.”