Yale mounts second-half comeback to upset Auburn in first round of NCAA Tournament

At one point during Friday’s NCAA Tournament game, Yale trailed No. 4 seed Auburn by 10 points in the second half. But the Ivy League-champion Bulldogs didn’t back down and took a lead in the final minutes before completing the comeback – handing the Tigers a first-round loss.

Yale had a lead in the first half before Auburn hit a groove to eventually take a 41-34 lead into halftime despite losing Chad Baker-Mazara to an ejection early in the game. That advantage grew to 68-58 with seven minutes to play.

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Then, the March Madness began. The Bulldogs got hot and used a 15-4 run to take a 73-72 lead with just over a minute to go.

A shot clock violation gave Auburn the ball back with 55 seconds to play, and a John Poulakidas foul with 46 seconds left sent the Tigers to the free throw line. However, Denver Jones missed the first half of the one-and-one, and Danny Wolf got two foul shots after a quick foul and made it a 75-72 lead.

Johni Broome made two free throws after Wolf fouled out, keeping Auburn in striking distance. Yale responded in kind to make it a 77-74 game, but Tre Donaldson missed a layup with 20 seconds left, meaning Auburn had to foul. But Yassine Gharram missed the second one, and K.D. Johnson made the layup on the other end with a chance at a three-point play. He missed the free throw, but a wild sequence – including a jump ball – gave Auburn the ball back.

But the ensuing free throws didn’t fall, and Yale held on for the 78-76 victory. Amid that crazy few minutes, especially the final possession when Donaldson got wide open, Yale coach James Jones had a simple message.

Remember, it was just five days ago Yale won the Ivy League at the buzzer in a thriller against Brown.

“Just stay composed,” he said. “It’s just one of those things, you’ve just got to do what you’ve been trained to do. And we were fortunate enough to get it done.”

Poulakidas had the biggest day for Yale, finishing with 28 points to lead the Bulldogs. But he didn’t take any of the credit afterward as his team advanced to the Round of 32.

“I give all credit to the man above with my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ,” Poulakidas said. “We stuck together today, and it was a full team effort. I know I led us in scoring, but everybody made contributions. It wasn’t a one-man show tonight.”