PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Xaivian Lee and John Poulakidas have gone toe to toe on Ivy League courts for the last three years, many of them in the biggest spots the conference had to offer.
So when Lee drilled a three to give Princeton a two-point lead with 1:35 left, Poulakidas—who was just 4-for-12 from the field at the time—drilled a contested three with the shot clock going down at the other end as he has so many times before.
Top-seeded Yale then survived some harrowing moments down the stretch, including a Lee three-point attempt at the buzzer, but the Bulldogs are back in the Ivy final for the fourth straight tournament after a 59-57 win at the Pizzitola Center.
“I thought obviously, the clock was winding down and my team has great trust in me,” Poulakidas said. “All the work I put in is for moments like that, so I can step into a shot like that with as much confidence as I can, no matter what happened earlier in the game. Luckily, it went in and I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
The Bulldogs (21-7), who won both regular season meetings, seemed to be in control the entire afternoon, but were never quite able to put the Tigers away for good. Yale’s biggest lead was 12 points early in the first half, and it stayed between six and ten for the bulk of the contest. But letting Princeton hang around nearly proved fatal for Yale, who finished 13-1 in the conference regular season.
And when CJ Happy hit a three with 3:29 left, the Tigers took their first lead of the day, 54-53. Princeton had a couple of other chances to extend the lead, including a Happy three that went in and out, but Bez Mbeng—newly crowned Ivy Player of the Year—hit a huge and-one to give Yale the lead back, setting up the heroics from Poulakidas and Lee.
It was a much more slow and physical encounter than the first two meetings, with Mitch Henderson’s adjustments largely working on the defensive end. Coupled with poor shooting (3-for-15 from three) from Yale, it made the Bulldogs work until the final second. But survive they did, as the Bulldogs will look for their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance Sunday in a decade after going 54 years (1962-2016) without one. Of course, the Bulldogs also beat Auburn in last year’s first-round NCAA game.
“Without taking too much credit for it, I’m a pretty calm coach, and I’d like to think that rubs off on our players,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We’ve had a workmanlike attitude the entire year and today was no different. We felt comfortable going in, but anybody can beat you, and we’re fortunate to survive today.”
The contest wasn’t without controversy at the end. Trailing 59-57 with 38 seconds left, Caden Pierce (11 points) appeared to have an open layup to tie the game, but Samson Aletan came out of nowhere to block the shot and it went into Poulakidas’ hands with 34 seconds to go. Henderson told his team to foul, but the Tigers didn’t, creating confusion. Eventually, Poulakidas never got a shot off.
The clock read 3.8 seconds, but was mysteriously set back to 6.6. Princeton advanced the ball, called timeout and got Lee’s look at the end, but it was not to be.
“Xaivian’s won five games for us at the end. I thought, ‘That’s going in, no doubt,’ Henderson said. “That’s what he does. I’m glad we had a shot there, we had some really good looks at the end to even extend our lead. It was a great crowd, Princeton basketball travels well, I’m proud of everyone today.”
Despite a 19-11 record, it will largely go down as a disappointing season for Princeton, picked to win the league. But some of that will be chalked up to an injury Pierce suffered in December. He gutted it out the rest of the season, with he and Lee both playing all 40 minutes Saturday, but it wasn’t quite enough.
Lee had 14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to lead the Tigers. Blake Peters, in his final game, also had 14 as Princeton, who took 112 three-pointers in three meetings with Yale, went 10-for-35 from behind the arc.
Four players were in double figures for Yale, with Poulakidas leading the way with 13, Nick Townsend 12 (and 12 rebounds), Mbeng 12, and Casey Simmons 11. It was not pretty by any stretch, but Yale is in yet another Ivy League final.
“Our guys are going to get something to eat, go back to the hotel, get a scout, get a meal, get some rest, and be ready for another one tomorrow,” Jones said. “I suspect we can gain some confidence from how we started the game, but it will be different tomorrow.”
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