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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Paced by a stellar 25-point performance from John Poulakidas, the Yale men’s basketball team took down the Cornell Big Red, 90-84, in the Ivy League tournament championship game. With the victory, Yale punched its ticket to March Madness for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
 
Turning Point
After Cornell cut Yale’s lead to five (39-34) with 18:26 left in the second half, the Bulldogs responded with a dominant 11-0 run, fueled by eight points from John Poulakidas, to push the advantage to 50-34. The Big Red fought back, narrowing the gap to four (57-53) with a 9-0 run at the 10:31 mark, but Trevor Mullin answered with a clutch three-pointer to keep Yale in front. Cornell pulled within three (66-63), but Mullin delivered another timely three to maintain the Bulldogs’ edge. The Bulldogs didn’t look back the rest of the way, icing the game with free throws in the final minute of play.
 
Notable Performances

• Poulakidas was sensational, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, 5-of-9 from deep, and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. He tallied 23 of his points in the second half and was 7-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from three.
• Nick Townsend recorded 19 points, was 8-of-14 from the field, and added four assists and five rebounds.
• Bez Mbeng added 15 points, a team-high seven rebounds, and four assists.
• Casey Simmons notched 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting with four rebounds.
• Isaac Celiscar chipped in with nine points.
• Mullin had eight points, six of which came on clutch threes in the second half.
• Yale tallied 19 of its points off Cornell turnovers.
• The Bulldogs had 17 bench points.

 
Bulldog Notes

• Poulakidas has notched double figures in 25 games this season, including his past 15.
• Mbeng has tallied double figures in 16 consecutive games.
• Yale is advancing to March Madness for the fifth time under Head Coach James Jones, and the eighth time in school history.
• Poulakidas was tabbed the All-Tournament MVP and Mbeng also garnered All-Tournament accolades.
• Yale is back-to-back Ivy League tournament champions for the first time in program history.
• The Bulldogs are the first No.1 seed to win the Ivy league championship title since 2017.

 
Hear from Coach Jones
“First of all, I’d like to thank Brown for putting on a great tournament along with the Ivy League. They did a great job, it was wonderful. These are hard-fought games between us and Cornell, which you might expect playing a team a third time. I thought our guys battled and played really tough and hard. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by these three men up on stage with me (John, Bez, Nick), and the guys in our locker room. They’re special young men. John and Bez talked about, when they were freshmen, wanting to do this as seniors on the way out. I’m so happy for them, that they achieved the goal that they set together, which is something that is really special – to know that they did it together, which is really great. I felt our team dug in, played hard. We met some adversity in the game, and we were able to overcome it. We’re extremely excited and happy to be going to the NCAA Tournament.”
 

BACK TO BACK ????

Down goes Cornell, 90-84!#ThisIsYale pic.twitter.com/WKnC7mwUG7

— Yale Men’s Basketball (@YaleMBasketball) March 16, 2025

That moment win….??????@YaleMBasketball #IvyMadness | @TIAA pic.twitter.com/5cFyQSvp3t

— Ivy League (@IvyLeague) March 16, 2025

Looking Ahead
Yale will learn its seed and opponent when the 68-team is field is announced on Sunday at 6 p.m.