Captain Nick Townsend recorded his second double-double of the season as the Yale men’s basketball team defeated Brandeis 79–61 on Wednesday night at John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven. The Bulldogs’ victory improves their record to 9–1 for the season.
Townsend led Yale with 18 points, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and making both of his three-point attempts. He also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds. Townsend has scored in double figures in nine out of ten games this year.
After Brandeis narrowed the gap to 38–26 early in the second half, Yale responded with a seven-point run, finished by a Townsend three-pointer. Although Brandeis answered with a three, Yale quickly added eight more points, including an Isaac Celiscar three-point play, pushing their lead to 54–29 with just over fourteen minutes left. Brandeis continued to compete but could not close the deficit.
Celiscar contributed 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and collected six rebounds, scoring ten points after halftime. Riley Fox added eleven points and five rebounds, while Trevor Mullin had nine points and three assists. Casey Simmons chipped in seven points and matched Mullin’s three assists.
Yale shot just over fifty percent from the field and generated significant offense from turnovers (23 points), paint scoring (40 points), and fast breaks (17 points).
Coach James Jones commented on the team’s performance: “I thought that Brandeis did a great job. They had a really good game plan, and we didn’t want to get outside of ourselves by trying to change the pace of the game. It’s been a very difficult stretch, with all the traveling and back-to-back games, and I’m happy that the team gets tomorrow off since they haven’t had a day off this week. We’ll practice Friday and Saturday in preparation for Sunday.”
Additional notes include Celiscar’s fifth consecutive game scoring in double figures; Fox reaching double digits in eight games this season; Townsend earning his tenth career double-double; Jack Sullivan setting a personal best with five rebounds; and Yale extending its winning streak to six games.
Yale will next host UIC on Sunday, December 7th at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
