Yale suffers rare home loss as Bulldogs struggle in second half against URI

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The 2024-25 season at Payne Whitney Gymnasium was one for the ages for the Yale men’s basketball program.

The Bulldogs went a perfect 11-0 at home as a part of an historic campaign in which they went 13-1 in Ivy League play en route to a second consecutive March Madness appearance. After one of the best years in program history, the expectations are high for an encore that has begun just as good.

The first three games have looked on par with the program’s recent success, as Yale went on the road for wins over Navy and Quinnipiac and took down Stony Brook at home. The fourth game of the Bulldogs’ season was the first time they looked a step off track, falling to Rhode Island, 86-77, for their first home loss since late in the 2023-24 season.

“Disappointing loss for us, having a 10-point lead in the second half and squandering it,” Yale coach James Jones said. “I thought Rhode Island did a really good job of doing what they do well in trying to be disruptive defensively and getting out in transition."

The Bulldogs were able to control the game in the first half and the early portions of the second half, but hit a wall on both ends of the court that allowed the Rams to take advantage. Trevor Mullin connected on an acrobatic jump shot that bounced high off the rim, hit the top of the backboard, and then fell back in the hoop to give Yale a 50-40 lead, its largest. From that point on, it was a dominant final 18:40 for URI, outscoring Yale, 46-27.

“We didn’t do a good job of staying in front of the ball and handling their pressure,” Jones said. “We need to be better at that.”

All five Yale starters finished the game in double figures, led by team captain Nick Townsend and his 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Coming into Tuesday night, the program was 31-3 at home since Townsend joined the program in 2022, so he and the rest of his teammates aren’t used to losing at Payne Whitney Gymnasium.

“We just have to learn from it,” Townsend said. “We have to respond. It sucks to lose at home and we didn’t cash in tonight, but we’ll have many other opportunities throughout the season and need to come out with more energy next time.”

Samson Aletan was next in the pecking order with 15 points and three blocks, including a ferocious putback slam off of a Townsend miss. The 7-footer is expected to be a force down low in his junior season, along with versatile forward Isaac Celiscar, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

In the second half, it was a trio of spurts that fueled Rhode Island to its eventual victory. Trailing 56-49, the Rams went on an 8-0 run that started with a fastbreak three-point play slam for Keeyan Itejere. A Bulldog turnover turned into a triple for Alex Crawford, and on the next possession, Jonah Hinton, the St. Bonaventure transfer that had a game-high 24 points, buried a stepback mid-range jumper to put the Rams in front.

“We did a poor job at getting back, a poor job at handling some of their pressure,” Jones said. “We turned it over too much, which led to our demise.”

The other two URI runs were the ones that were really the dagger. With the game tied at 64 with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Rams squeezed out a 7-0 burst to take a 71-64 lead into the under-8 media timeout. Yale would trim it to 71-69, but another 7-0 run would commence, headlined by Tyler Cochran scoring the first five and Mouhamed Sow capping it off with a fastbreak eurostep dunk to put URI up nine, the final differential.

What lingered the most in the second half for Yale was its ability to get back in transition after a missed basket, allowing URI to get easy and quick points. For a team learning how to play and succeed without Bez Mbeng and John Poulakidas, this is just a slight wrinkle of what's been a solid start to the new year.

The Bulldogs are heading down to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam. They’ll take on Green Bay Friday afternoon before facing either UMass or Charleston in their second game of the tournament.