James Jones raises Ivy League championship trophy as Yale held off Cornell to return to NCAA Tournament. (Photo by The Ivy League)
By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — When the halftime buzzer sounded and Yale trotted into the locker room with a 37-32 lead, John Poulakidas was a bit discouraged in his performance, but he knew he was close to unlocking something.
“I thought at halftime, I just needed to see one go through,” Poulakidas said. “In the first half, I didn’t hit at the clip that I’d like.”
He saw one go through. Then another. And another. In the second half, Poulakidas scored 23 points and buried five threes to lead Yale to a 90-84 win over Cornell to clinch Ivy Madness and the program’s second consecutive bid into the NCAA Tournament.
“I thought our guys battled really hard,” head coach James Jones said, keeping it simple.
They had to. After going up 16 early in the second half, the potent Big Red offense woke up and turned automatic from three. In the blink of an eye, it was a one-possession game. Some timely triples from Poulakidas and Trevor Mullin helped balloon the Bulldog lead back up to a couple possessions, and it was smooth sailing from there for the champs.
“We told each other in that huddle before the game that the only thing that matters is to win,” Poulakidas said. “We have utmost faith in whoever is in the locker room with us.”
For Poulakidas, this marks a third NCAA Tournament in his four-year career. He wasn’t much of a factor early on for the Bulldogs, playing just 20 games as a freshman and averaging less than two points per game. Similar to how he performed in the first half on Sunday, he was frustrated. But also in parallel, he knew his time was coming.
“John Poulakidas didn’t play much at all as a freshman and it was frustrating for him,” Jones said. “I told him one day that he was going to lead us in scoring.”
Not only did he lead Yale in scoring, he’s built up one of the more illustrious resumes in the history of the program. He and fellow senior Bez Mbeng set a goal as freshmen to be in this position of Ivy League champions as seniors. Not only did they accomplish that, they’ve done it three times.
As soon as the buzzer sounded, Poulakidas went into the stands to find his family members and celebrate with them. It was a long journey that had its ups and downs, but he was very grateful to be going out on top.
“My parents have sacrificed so much for me to be in this position today,” Poulakidas said. “Those two have meant the entire world to me in the highest of highs, like today, and the lowest of lows. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
The focus for Yale now shifts to later this evening, when the Bulldogs will hear where they’ll be heading for the NCAA Tournament. After sending a message last season as a No. 13 seed and upsetting fourth-seeded Auburn in the first round, carried by Poulakidas, whatever team is above them on the bracket reveal is certainly going to be on high alert.
“There’s not a team that we’re gonna play that they’re gonna be happy to play us,” Jones said. “None of those teams want to play us non-conference, so I know they don’t want to play us now.”
As for how much success the Bulldogs will have this time around, Jones has a lot of confidence in his guys.
“I’m bringing two suits on the trip,” he said. “Just so y'all know that.”
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