NEW YORK — Yale defeated Brown 62-61 in the championship game of the Ivy League Tournament on Sunday to send the Bulldogs to their seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Time.
Kino Lilly Jr. sank two free throws to give the fourth-ranked Bears (13-18) a 60-54 lead with 27 seconds left. Bess Mbeng answered with a three-point play for No. 2 Yale (22-9). Nana Owusu-Anane hit the second of two free throws for Brown, but John Boulagitas buried a 3-pointer and the Bulldogs trailed 61-60 with 14 seconds left.
Boulagidas fouled Malachi Ndoor, who missed two free throws to set the stage for Noling.
It was a tough finish for the Bears, who defeated Yale 84-81 in the regular season finale. Brown won six in a row to end the season and finish fourth and final in the conference tournament.
The Bears defeated top-seeded Princeton 90-80 in the semifinals in search of their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986. Their only trip to the Big Dance came in 1939.
Yale defeated No. 3 seed Cornell 69–57 to reach the finals and make its last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2022. The Bulldogs have won three of the five championships since the Ivy began play in the four-team league.
Noling and August Mahoney each scored seven points to give Yale a 26-22 halftime lead. Lilly scored seven at halftime for Brown.
Yale led 46-44 until back-to-back baskets by Brown from Ndur and Kalu Anya with 8:22 left to play. The Bears never pulled back until the final shot.
Boulagidas led the Bulldogs with 18 points, hitting 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Mahoney added 15 points and five rebounds. Noling totaled 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. Danny Wolf grabbed 13 rebounds to go with nine points.
Lilly made three 3-pointers to lead Brown with 21 points. Anya had 12 points and seven rebounds. Ndur chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks off the bench.
