Dec. 8, 2005
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Kenny Adeleke scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as Hartford topped Yale 76-60 before a crowd of 1,206 at Chase Arena. Aaron Cook added 21 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Hawks, who won their fourth straight game. Freshman Ross Morin paced the Bulldogs with a career-high 14 points.
Hartford (4-2) jumped out to an early 12-2 lead, but the Bulldogs rallied. A Travis Pinick three-pointer pulled them within 14-12 with 12:23 left in the first half. The Hawks built the lead back to seven, 23-16, but Yale (3-4) answered with a 12-3 run, capped by Sam Kaplan's jumper that gave the Bulldogs a 28-26 lead with 2:44 left. Bo Taylor's layup in the final seconds, though, helped the Hawks to a 31-29 lead at the intermission
Hartford scored the first six points of the second half, but Yale responded with a 7-0 run to pull within 37-36 with 15:11 left. The Hawks then outscored the Bulldogs 21-10 over the next seven minutes to take command.
Adeleke made nine of 10 field goals in the second half, many coming on fast breaks.
"We let the game get away from us at the start of the second half," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach Of Men's Basketball. "If we don't get beat in transition, maybe it's a different game."
Adeleke, who transferred to Hartford from Hofstra, also grabbed 10 rebounds in the game and had three blocks and four steals.
"We didn't come out ready to play at the start of the second half," Kaplan said. "They scored some quick points and that put us down. We're making some mental mistakes that we can correct."
Junior Jason Abromaitis had his best game at Yale, finishing with eight points and nine rebounds, both career highs, in 20 minutes off the bench. Kaplan scored 11 points, while Eric Flato and Caleb Holmes both had eight.
The Bulldogs made just 5 of 19 three-point attempts.
"We have some pretty good shooters. They just haven't shown it yet," Jones said. "We're a young team, and hopefully the guys will learn from this."
The Bulldogs have a nine-day layoff for final exams before hosting Hampton on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 3 p.m. at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
That will mark the return of senior Dominick Martin, who has one semester of eligibility remaining. He is Yale's leading returning scorer and rebounder from last year.
Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity
