Bryant University pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win against Yale yesterday to earn the first Division I home victory in the school’s history, erasing a 15-point halftime deficit to topple the Ivy League school, 69-58.

“It was huge for us,” said Bryant coach Tim O’Shea. “I knew we always had a chance. To get our first Division I home win against Yale, which, with Harvard, is one of the two most recognizable names in higher education; it’s just huge.”

Bryant came into the game at 1-11 in its first year in Division I, and for the first half it looked like Bryant would suffer another blowout against a bigger team. The Bryant Bulldogs looked dead in the water, unable to get an open shot and missing those they did take. Yale, also nicknamed the Bulldogs, dominated on the boards, and at the half, Yale had a 34 to 19 lead.

But Bryant blew Yale away in the second half, and they did it without their best player, Cecil Gresham, who was ill with the flu and sat the entire half. Bryant scored 50 points after halftime –– Bryant usually averages 52 in a full game –– and went on an amazing 18-3 run to start the half and catch Yale, now 2-9.

“We just caught a huge wave of emotion and momentum,” O’Shea said.

It’s a pivotal moment in what has been an up-and-down first Division I season for Bryant, which was traditionally one of the stronger teams in Division II. Bryant has played some of the toughest teams in all of college basketball, and had to play nearly all of them on the road. They have been competitive on the defensive end, but have not been able to score against bigger, more athletic teams. Now, the Bulldogs begin a stretch of easier games, and will do it knowing that they were brilliant offensively against a much larger team.

“I think we found some confidence today,” O’Shea said. “They need Division I confidence, that we can win Division I games.”

After a flat first half, confidence seemed like the last thing Bryant would find. Gresham, who averages 15 points a game, missed all five of his shots and said he was too sick to return.

Bryant came out at the half playing a smaller lineup of Barry Latham, Nick Pontes, Peter Lambert, Chris Birrell and Andrew Lyell. Bryant attacked Yale and kept the tempo up. Pontes, in particular, was excellent. In his first start of the year, the 6-foot-6 center dominated after halftime, scoring 15 points with 5 rebounds and playing bigger than men with several inches on him –– including a vicious dunk during Bryant’s 18-3 run.

“We just had a lot of good balance today,” said Pontes, a New Bedford native. “I got some open looks and took advantage.”

Bryant chipped away at Yale’s lead with layups and 3-pointers, even narrowing Yale’s rebounding advantage.

As the crowd started to buy into the comeback, Birrell, who gave up his usual point-guard duties to Sam LeClerc and Lambert for much of the game, came through in a big way. The team leader drained a dramatic three-pointer from the corner to knot the score at 37, and then hit another moments later to give Bryant its first lead, 44-41.

“It’s a big game against an Ivy team –– when you come away with a win like that at home, it’s great,” said Birrell, who had 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Strong shooting by Birrell, Lambert and Pontes widened the lead, while Yale suddenly couldn’t hit a shot, air-balling three-point attempts and missing easy second-chance layups off rebounds. Birrell hit his free throws to ice the victory, and the celebration began in the sparsely populated Chace Center.

Bryant will travel to New York to face Long Island on Wednesday, and drive down to Providence to face Brown next Saturday.

dbarbari@projo.com