Men's Basketball

Yale Claims Men's Ivy Madness Presented by TIAA Title After Thrilling Win Over Harvard

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Yale claimed the 2019 Ivy League Tournament presented by TIAA championship, defeating Harvard 97-85 on Sunday afternoon at John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn.
 
The Bulldogs became the third team to win the Ivy League Tournament, joining Princeton (2017) and Penn (2018). Yale receives the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will enter March Madness for the fifth time in program history.
 
Although Harvard led for just 28 seconds, the first half was a back-and-forth battle. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field and the Crimson hit seven three-pointers to keep pace with Yale.
 
Crimson junior guard Bryce Aiken exploded for 21 points in the first half, including a trio of three-pointers, to account for half of Harvard’s overall scoring, Yale seniors Alex Copeland and Blake Reynolds each had 10 points as the teams headed into the locker room.
 
Harvard opened the second half with a hot start, but Yale responded with an 8-0 run to take back the lead at, 53-52. After that basket, Yale unleashed a 20-7 run to take a 73-59 lead with 8:28 left in the game.
 
Despite Aiken setting a career-high with 38 points and shattering his own Ivy League Tournament record for points in a game, the Bulldogs’ offense was too much as Yale hit six of its last seven shots to close out the double-digit victory. Alex Copeland scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half and was selected the Most Outstanding Performer of the tournament. He and teammate Miye Oni were joined on the All-Tournament team by Aiken, Penn’s AJ Brodeur and Princeton’s Richmond Aririguzoh.
 
GAME NOTES
  • Harvard’s Bryce Aiken broke his own Ivy League Tournament record for points in a game with 38. Aiken previously set the record in the 2017 Ivy League Tournament against Yale with 28 points.
  • Yale’s 97 points are the most scored by a team ever in the Ivy League Tournament final
  • Yale clinches its first-ever Ivy League Tournament championship and second-ever NCAA Tournament berth (2016)
  • Brothers Robbie (Harvard) and Michael (Yale) Feinberg were on opposite sides in the Ivy League Tournament title game

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
  • Richmond Aririguzoh, Princeton
  • AJ Brodeur, Penn
  • Bryce Aiken, Harvard
  • Miye Oni, Yale
  • Alex Copeland, Yale*

*-Most Outstanding Performer