Big Brother Wins Again, but More Might be at Stake Later
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – This one looked like it could get ugly early on. It wasn’t, and both coaches were happy with that.
You wouldn’t think the winning coach would be exceedingly happy that a game that looked like it could be a blowout would wind up being close, but this was no ordinary game. Yale’s 74-67 win over Columbia was the fifth meeting between the two teams since brothers James and Joe Jones were on the opposing benches, with Yale and older brother James having won four of the five thus far.
With five games between them by now, one might think the novelty of the two brothers coaching against one another has worn off. But these aren’t your ordinary brothers. They are very close and very competitive; they don’t talk for a week leading up to each meeting, which isn’t easy on either of them. It’s not out of disrespect; in fact, the two have the utmost respect for each other amidst the sibling rivalry. They simply aren’t going to talk about how they can beat one another in their next game.
But for proof that silence isn’t because they’re on the warpath, just look at how Columbia head coach Joe Jones began Friday’s post-game press conference.
“I thought my brother did a great job, I thought his kids were focused tonight, and it’s what I expected coming into the game,” he began. “I don’t ever like to lose a game, but I was proud of the way he got his kids to play tonight.”
James was simply glad the game is over, but there’s still one more meeting between the two teams in two weeks.
“I’ll be happy when the last game against Columbia is over and we can go on to bigger and better things, and we can talk about trying to beat the other teams in the Ivy League,” he reflected.
The game showcased two teams remarkably similar aside from the coaches. 11 of 14 players on Columbia’s roster are either freshmen or sophomores; of Yale’s 15 players, only five are upperclassmen. In other words, we got a look at the Ivy League’s future in this game, and it looked promising.
It started with Yale sophomore Eric Flato getting hot from long range as the Bulldogs (12-10, 4-3) scored the first 11 points of the game and built a 27-9 lead. Classmates Nick and Caleb Holmes also got hot early, and senior Dominick Martin had 10 of his 17 points in the first half.
But then Columbia (8-12, 1-6) and its own sophomores got going. Justin Armstrong, Ben Nwachukwu and John Baumann scored all of the points in a 17-2 run that brought the Lions within three. Baumann scored 15 points in the half, but would finish with just two more.
Just over four minutes into the second half, Columbia would get within three again, but the Bulldogs had answers the rest of the way as the Lions got no closer. Down the stretch, the Bulldogs made enough plays at both ends to hang on despite only going 8-16 from the free throw line in the second half.
Martin added 10 rebounds to his team-high 17 points, posting his first double-double of the season, while Flato finished with 14 and four assists. Casey Hughes had 10 points and four steals before fouling out, but his highlights were two driving dunks that brought the house down. Nwachakwu led Columbia with 18 points, but had just two rebounds.
The Lions’ sophomore talents are clear. Baumann, who is also a pitcher on the baseball team, and Nwachukwu are two of the Ivy League’s most improved players; together, they gave them a solid inside tandem. Armstrong and Brett Loscalzo are the backcourt keys; if the Lions are going to become a contender, they have to keep improving so opponents can’t get away with keying on the inside players. Sophomore Mack Montgomery and freshman shooter K.J. Matsui will also be keys to how this team develops on the perimeter.
“We just got to keep improving,” Joe Jones said. “It’s no secret: you just got to improve every day, and we came out tonight and talked nothing about trying to win the game. We wanted to go out and have people respect our program tonight, and if we can get that and play with some heart, eventually if we have good enough players we can win.”
Despite the struggles, Joe Jones has preached to his team that they need to look beyond the win-loss column while trying to win games. It’s not about winning the Ivy League this year, although that would obviously be the ultimate goal. It’s about making the next steps toward eventually winning one.
“The teams that get through tough times like this don’t focus too far ahead or look back,” Joe Jones said. “We’re not looking back now. We’re trying to live in the here and now.
“We didn’t look like a 1-6 team out there for most of the game; for the first five minutes we did, but after that, we looked like a very good team, because I think we focused now on just trying to do the best we can. At some point, it’s going to be good enough, and we’re going to win some games.”
The Bulldogs are arriving ahead of schedule with their youth. With Martin as the only senior getting major minutes, much of this team will be intact next year. Junior forwards Hughes and Sam Kaplan, who missed this weekend’s games with a wrist injury (he may play next weekend), have both improved over their careers and figure to be key players next year, while James Jones was happy with the play of classmate Jason Abromaitis on Friday night. Flato’s development into one of the top young guards in the Ivy League is one reason the Bulldogs are playing this well, and the Holmes twins have good days ahead as well. Freshmen Travis Pinick, Ross Morin and Chris Andrews have also shown plenty of promise.
If Friday night is any indication, there may be a lot more than a sibling rivalry at stake when these two teams meet in the next couple of years.
