Tigers Fall in Season Finale at Yale

Saturday, March 3

New Haven, Conn.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

13-16, 5-9Ivy

Yale

16-14, 9-5Ivy

OT 1

Princeton

Yale

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

March 03, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Yale entered Saturday night's visit from Princeton knowing it'd be the third seed in next weekend's Ivy League Tournament, no better, no worse.

The Tigers were looking to join the party, needing a win and a Harvard win over Columbia to grab the fourth and final seed. The Crimson dealt Columbia that loss, but Princeton came up short of taking advantage, falling to Yale 94-90 in overtime in New Haven.

"It was every bit of (a tournament game) for us," Mitch Henderson, the Franklin C. Cappon-Edward G. Green '40 head coach of Princeton men's basketball, said. "The last two years, we went 28-2 in the league (including the Ivy League Tournament), and we won seven or eight games like this, and we've lost four or five like this this year."

Yale began the game on a 7-0 run and was up as many as 13 points at 18-5 more than eight minutes into the game. Princeton was able to narrow that gap, finally tying the game as late as 51-51 with 14-plus minutes left in regulation.

Yale answered that tie with five straight points, a theme that continued much of the rest of the way. Princeton was within one at 61-60 after Aaron Young was fouled behind the 3-point line and made all three free throws, but Yale responded with six straight points to reopen a 67-61 lead with just more than eight minutes to go. It took a late burst for the Tigers to close the gap and send the game to overtime, with Princeton closing regulation on an 8-0 run capped by a Myles Stephens bucket with 24 seconds to go to knot it at 79-79.

Though Princeton led early in the overtime after a pair of Amir Bell free throws at 81-79, the rest of the extra period belonged to the Bulldogs. Princeton tied it up again at 85-85 on a Bell 3-pointer with 50 seconds to go, but once Miye Oni answered with a 3 on Yale's next possession, the Bulldogs scored the next five points held the lead the rest of the way.

Princeton drained 13 3-pointers including four from junior Devin Cannady, who was tied for the third-leading scorer along with sophomore Will Gladson with 16 points apiece. Bell led the way with 20 points in his final game as a Tiger as Princeton had six players in double figures for the first time since 2000. Junior Stephens added 17 with senior Aaron Young chipping in 11 and rookie Jerome Desrosiers adding 10 as those six double-figure scorers had all 90 of Princeton's points. Oni and Azar Swain co-led Yale with 18 points apiece as two of the four Bulldogs in double figures.

Yale outshot Princeton 52.3 percent to 42.6 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Tigers 40-34, though Princeton committed just six turnovers to 10 for the Bulldogs.

"You're saying goodbye to some seniors, and it's tough," Henderson said. "This one hurts, and the guys that are coming back will learn a lot from this season. But right now, I feel bad for our seniors."

Postgame Notes

• Devin Cannady will begin next season in fourth place on Princeton's career 3-pointers list with 218. Sean Jackson '92 is in third with 235, and Cannady is 63 from tying Brian Earl '99 for the record of 281. His 80 3-pointers were the sixth-most in a season in Princeton history, one behind his fifth-most 81 from last season.

• Cannady will start next season in 14th place on Princeton's all-time scoring list, with 1,224 points. Brian Taylor '84 is 13th at 1,239.

• Amir Bell jumped two spots to 31st on Princeton's all-time scoring list, finishing his career with 1,043 points. He finishes his career sixth on Princeton's all-time assist list, with 213.

• Will Gladson's 16 points boosted his career high from the 10 he scored against Cornell last month.