Yale falls to Princeton Ivy League title game
PRINCETON, N.J. — Yale owned the No. 1 seed, 10 wins in its last 11 games and a stellar track record against Princeton. But as tournament hosts, it seemed the Tigers were not going to be denied.
Bez Mbeng’s 18 points and six rebounds were not enough as the Bulldogs fell to second-seeded Princeton 74-65 in the Ivy League men’s basketball tournament final on Sunday.
The Bulldogs (21-8), the two-time Ivy League Tournament defending champions, drew within three points in the final three minutes but were unable to overcome a Princeton group with the home crowd on its side.
Yale’s season is not over. As a No. 1 seed that failed to advance to the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs instead will participate in the National Invitation Tournament. Princeton (21-8) will represent the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.
“They’re not in a great place right now, but they’re a resilient group of young men,” Yale coach James Jones said. “There will be a game on our ledger and I expect them to go out and play it to their fullest.”
With less than four minutes to play and Yale down six, Mbeng, a sophomore guard, drained a 3-pointer and added a tough floater to bring the Bulldogs within 61-58. Mbeng missed a free throw, and junior guard August Mahoney
got a chance at a one-and-one but missed the first shot.
Sophomore guard John Poulakidas and Mbeng couldn’t connect on shots in the closing minutes and Princeton was able to salt the game away at the foul line.
Junior forward Matt Knowling, a first-team All-Ivy selection, had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and five assists. Mahoney, who was named to the all-tournament team, added 13 points.
Yale missed six of its 19 foul shots and gave up 11 offensive rebounds to Princeton. The Tigers also benefited from several offensive foul calls on Yale, as Jones noted.
“I don’t know if one block/charge call went our way the entire evening, so