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Princeton University
Cornell
Men's Hoops Stays Perfect; Penn Is Next
February 08, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2003
Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. - Ed Persia scored 16 points and Ray Robins contributed 14 points off the bench to lead Princeton to a 67-49 victory over Cornell Saturday night at Newman Arena. The win is Princeton's sixth straight, the best stretch of the season, and sets up a matchup Tuesday night between two teams with undefeated league marks - Penn (4-0) and Princeton (4-0).
Princeton was never seriously challenged in the second half, leading by at least 13 points the whole way. Cornell cut it to a 13-point lead with 7:56 remaining, but Robins drained a three-pointer three feet beyond the arc to open a 58-42 lead. From that point, Princeton forced four turnovers and allowed only one field goal as it stretched the lead to 23 points. Will Venable scored 13 points, while Spencer Gloger added 11 points. The Princeton defense forced a season-high 25 turnovers and recorded 13 steals from eight different players.
"The guys were focused tonight," Princeton head coach John Thompson said. "They did what they had to do. [Cornell] has guys who can score. This is the kind of game where earlier in the season we would have forced shots. We did a good job tonight working for good shots."
Princeton took a 36-22 lead into halftime, thanks to both a solid shooting performance and careless passing by the Big Red. The Tigers shot 52% in the half (13 for 25), while the Big Red committed 13 turnovers. Ka'Ron Barnes kept Cornell in the game by himself, scoring 11 consecutive points to cut into a double-digit lead midway through the half. A combined Princeton effort topped Barnes' individual play, as seven players scored in the half. Persia led Princeton with 10 points, while Gloger had nine and Robins had five. Robins' first basket came on a major putback dunk late in the half.
Princeton will travel to The Palestra Tuesday night to battle the Penn Quakers at 8 p.m. (Comcast Sportsnet, WBUD 1260 AM, GoPrincetonTigers.com). Either Penn or Princeton has won the Ivy League championship and gone to the NCAA tournament in 14 straight seasons and 32 of the last 34. Last season, Penn swept Princeton, including a 64-48 win at The Palestra in the regular season finale.