IN PHOTOS: "Tonight we were galvanized:" students' return highlights Yale men's basketball win over Harvard On Saturday, the first night Yale undergraduates could return to the John J. Lee Amphitheater since Yale stiffened fan attendance policies in response to the Omicron variant, Yale took down the Crimson to snap an eight-game regular-season losing streak against its rival and stay alone atop the Ivy League standings. Photos by Tim Tai. Words by William McCormack.
For the second straight night, defense on an opponent’s final possession determined the outcome of a Yale men’s basketball game. Except on Saturday, with Yale undergraduates allowed back in the John J. Lee Amphitheater for the first time since Yale stiffened fan policies in response to the Omicron variant, the Bulldogs’ five defenders had additional support from a jeering mass of students.
The Yale crowd helped guard and captain Jalen Gabbidon '22, the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, effectively counter Harvard guard Noah Kirkwood's last shot attempt. Kirkwood missed, Yale (12–9, 6–1 Ivy) corralled the defensive rebound and forward Isaiah Kelly '23 sank one extra free throw to secure a 58–55 win over the Crimson (11–8, 3–4).
The student crowd told the story of the game as it grew throughout the first half and narrated the action — big shots, bad misses, questionable calls — with its collective reaction. Yale’s first points — guard Azar Swain '22 cut, received a pinpoint bounce pass from Mbeng and laid it up — sent students into a frenzy. They lost it again later in the half when Kirkwood snagged a pass intended for Swain, raced down the floor and missed a wide-open layup on the fast break. Harvard’s free-throw percentage in the first half offered quantitative proof of the student energy: the Crimson made just one of their six attempts.
The Ivy League's leading scorer, Swain paced the Bulldogs with 19 points and had almost complete discretion on Yale's late-game possessions. With less than a minute to go and Yale up 55–50, head coach James Jones waved at Swain’s teammates to clear out, isolating the Yale star one-on-one with Harvard guard Evan Nelson. Swain proceeded to dance his way to a midrange jumper that pushed Yale’s lead to 57–50 with 42 seconds to play.
For Harvard, Kirkwood came alive late in the second half to finish with a game-high 21 points. The Crimson's full-court press gave Yale trouble in the final minute, allowing Harvard to score five straight to answer Swain's jumper. But Gabbidon and Yale, which led for 36 of the game's 40 minutes, managed to stop Kirkwood from tying the game or giving his side the lead.
Students’ presence on Saturday was not expected a few days ago, and the game was still not open to the general public. Yale has permitted fully-vaccinated faculty, staff, graduate and professional students to attend sporting events since Jan. 17 and originally set Monday, Feb. 7 as the date for undergraduates’ return. But an announcement Friday afternoon ended Yale’s phase-two campus quarantine two days early — on Saturday as opposed to this Monday — and allowed Yale College students back to games starting Saturday.
Yale recorded a weekend sweep with the win — on Friday night, the Bulldogs beat Dartmouth, 72–69. With Princeton's loss at Cornell on Friday night, the Elis are now alone in first place as they head into the second half of conference play.
“I think the students have been all cooped up in their rooms, not being able to socialize,” Jones said after the game. “What basketball does and what sports do, they galvanize a community, and tonight we were galvanized … I think that all of Yale, all the kids here, they felt like they were part of that win, and they were.”
The Crimson, who had won eight straight regular-season meetings over Yale going into the weekend, do not have to wait long for a rematch. The two rivals play again Wednesday night at Harvard after their originally scheduled Jan. 9 matchup in Boston was postponed due to COVID-19 cases in the Yale program early last month.
Credits:
In the cover image, Yale students cheer as players are introduced before Saturday's game. All photos by staff photographer Tim Tai.