Brown Beats Yale In Ivy Opener 65-51
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Four Brown players scored in double figures, led by junior guard Sean McGonagill scored 20 points as the Bears opened their Ivy League season with a 65-51 victory over Yale at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The win, Brown’s third straight, lifts the Bears to 7-8 overall and 1-0 in the Ivy league, while Yale falls to 6-12, 0-1 in Ivy play.
Both the Brown and Yale coaching staffs wore sneakers to help create awareness for the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, and raise funds for the American Cancer Society.
McGonagill’s 20 points came on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 shooting from behind the three-point arc. He also had four assists, five rebounds and committed no turnovers in 38-minutes of play. Brown senior Matt Sullivan was also a big contributor for the Bears with 13 points and a team high six rebounds.
“I expect a lot from Sean,” said Brown head coach Mike Martin. “He’s the best, if not one of the best, point guards in the Ivy League. He’s scores, sets people up and the ball’s in his hands for the entire game. I have a lot of trust in Sean.”
Senior Stephen Albrecht, playing in his second game of the season due to injury, sparked the Bears off the bench with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 treys. Sophomore center Rafael Maia chipped in with 10 points for Brown on 4-of-8 shooting.
“Steve’s been practicing for about 10 days and can go only about a half hour each practice,” said Martin. “For him to come in and make shots is impressive.”
Yale had just one double figure scorer, Greg Kelly, who came off the bench to score 11 points. Armani Cotton’s 11 rebounds led both teams.
Trailing 9-6 early in the game, Brown outscored the Bulldogs, 11-1, to grab a 17-10 lead on a driving lay-up by McGonagill with 10:53 left in the half. The Bears extended their lead to eight points, 23-15, after a Sullivan layup two minutes later.
Brown’s biggest lead of the half came at intermission, 33-24, following an Albrecht trey.
The Bears took control of the game at the outset of the second half with a 9-2 run, capped off by a McGonagill trey with 16.51 remaining to grab a 42-26 advantage. McGonagill added another trey with 14:35 left that gave the Brown a 21-point advantage, 49-28.
Yale clawed back in the game with a 14-0 run to pull to within seven points, 49-42, on a Sam Martin lay-up at the 10-minute mark. Martin had five points in the spurt.
McGonagill’s trey with nine minutes remaining stopped the Bulldog assault and put the Bears back by 10 points, 52-42.
Following a Yale basket, Bears’ senior Tyler Pointicelli scored on a lay-up and Albrecht hit back-to back treys to put Brown in in control, 60-44, with three minutes remaining.
Brown vs. Yale, Round II, will be played next Saturday afternoon, January 26, as the Bears and Elis tangle in New Haven, Connecticut, in a 2:00 p.m. tip-off at the John Lee Amphitheater.
NOTES:
-Brown's stingy defense held the Bulldogs to just 33% (19-58) from the field and 18% (4-22) from three-point range. Yale also managed just 4 assists on their 19 field goals and did not have a single assist at halftime.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST-Just as impressive as McGonagill's game-high 20 points was the fact that the junior point guard had no turnovers in the game. McGonagill also nailed a huge three in the second half stopping a 14-0 Yale run that had cut Brown's lead from 21 points down to 7.
-After going (6-2) as a player against Yale while playing at Brown, Bears coach Mike Martin (class of 2004) is now (1-0) against the Bulldogs as a head coach.