Yale men’s basketball secured its seventh consecutive victory with an 80-66 win over UIC at John J. Lee Amphitheater on Sunday, marking the team’s final home game of 2025.
Trevor Mullin led Yale with a career-best performance, scoring 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting and making a personal record of four three-pointers. He also contributed three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Twelve of Mullin’s points came in the first half.
The game’s momentum shifted early in the second half when Yale opened with a 12–0 run, capped by a three-point play from Mullin that extended the lead to 47–32 at the 14:12 mark. Although UIC narrowed the gap to six points late in the game, Yale responded with seven unanswered points to secure the win.
Other notable performances included Samson Aletan’s team-high 13 rebounds and three blocks; Nick Townsend’s 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists; and Isaac Celiscar’s 13 points on efficient shooting along with seven rebounds and three assists. Casey Simmons and Riley Fox each added nine points for Yale.
Yale capitalized on second-chance opportunities, scoring 19 points in that category. Defensively, they limited UIC to just under 34 percent shooting from the field.
Reflecting on the game, Coach James Jones said: “It was a really good win by our team. UIC poses a different kind of schematic defensively to try and slow you down, and it took us roughly three quarters of the first half to figure out the best way to score. Once we did that, we kind of got going, and then our defense tightened up at the beginning of the second half. We held them scoreless for almost six minutes, which gave us the cushion to push it out, get the lead to 15, and cruise from there.”
Several Bulldogs reached personal milestones during this stretch: Celiscar has scored double figures in six straight games; Townsend has posted double-digit points in back-to-back contests while grabbing at least seven rebounds in his last three appearances; Aletan set a new career high for rebounds; Mullin achieved career highs in both total points and made threes; Yale has scored at least 80 points in six games this season.
The Bulldogs will next face UAlbany at the MGM Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Wednesday, December 10.
