Yale downs Penn in Ivy League semifinal
BOSTON — Azar Swain sized up his defender. Took him left. Took him right. Started to drive.
And passed.
The Yale senior guard, just moments after showing his full offensive arsenal on consecutive possessions, dumped it to classmate Jalen Gabbidon, who hit two critical freethrows with 28 seconds remaining to extend a twopossession lead en route to a 67-61 victory over Penn n the Ivy League tournament semifinals Saturday at Lavietes Pavilion.
“When I’m in that position late in the game, I’m trying to get a comfortable shot,” Swain said. “When I got to the right wing, Jalen was wide open. It was a no-brainer in that situation to give it to him.”
Swain, whose hometown of Brockton is just 25 miles south of Boston, finished with a team-high 25 points as the second-seeded Bulldogs (18-11, 11-3 Ivy League) bested the third-seeded Quakers (12-16, 9-5). Yale will play top-seeded Princeton (23-5, 12-2) in the Ivy League championship with a noon tip Sunday at Lavietes Pavilion.
Yale and Penn split their two regular season contests with each team winning on their home floor. On the neutral court on Harvard’s campus for the Ivy League tournament — aka Ivy Madness — Swain and Co. felt at home. A “we want Princeton” chant broke out from the Yale student section in the waning moments when the game was all but decided. Yale and Princeton split in the regular season with each team winning on the other’s home floor.
“Princeton poses a number of difficult challenges for every team they play,” said Yale coach James Jones. “We’ll digest a scout tonight, and tomorrow morning we’ll get ready to play.”
Yale and Penn are the only two Ivy League teams to have qualified for the postseason tournament since its inception in 2017. After falling in the championship game in the tournament’s debut weekend, Yale won the title in 2019.
The Bulldogs led for nearly the first 10 minutes and hit its first three 3pointers, including two from Swain. A back-andforth stretch resulted in a Yale a 32-29 halftime advantage. Swain had 16 first half points, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor and making all four of his 3-point attempts.
“That set the tone for us, giving our team some positivity and helping us take the lead,” Jones said. “When [Swain] is special, he’s special.”
PRINCETON 77, CORNELL 73
Jaelin Llewellyn scored 23 points and Tosan Evbuomwan added 21 points as Princeton narrowly beat Cornell in Saturday’s first semifinal.
Evbuomwan made a go-ahead layup with 36 seconds remaining and Ryan Langborg had two free throws with five seconds left as Princeton scored the final four points to advance to the championship game.