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Princeton University
Cornell
Venable, Wallace Lead Men's Basketball to Big Win at Cornell, 69-64
February 13, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2004
Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. - Will Venable is Princeton's do-it-all player, a versatile swingman who does anything the Tigers need to come away with a win. On Friday night, in front of a rabid crowd at Cornell's Newman Arena in a battle for first place in the Ivy League, the junior guard may have fashioned the finest game of his Princeton career.
Venable scored 17 of his career-high 28 points in the second half, helping Princeton stave off several Cornell runs with key plays, as the Tigers moved into sole possession of first place in the league with a 69-64 victory over the Big Red before a crowd that turned into a sellout by the game's final five minutes.
Venable, Princeton's leading scorer and rebounder in Ivy League play, shot 9 for 12 from the field and 9 for 13 from the free-throw line and added four rebounds as the Tigers (12-7, 5-1) moved one-half game ahead of Cornell and Brown and one game ahead of Penn in the league standings. Cornell (10-10, 5-2) never led in the second half as the Tigers took an 11-point lead early in the half and continually held off numerous Cornell runs. The Tigers, who won at Newman Arena for the 10th time in the last 11 years, also got 22 points from junior center Judson Wallace, including 15 in the second half, as well as a game-high nine rebounds. Wallace hit a three-pointer to put Princeton ahead 31-27 early in the half, another three to put the Tigers ahead 45-39 midway through the half and had a conventional three-point play with 4:32 left to put Princeton ahead 55-48. He then scored again with 2:22 left to put the Tigers back ahead by seven after Cornell's Karon Barnes had scored for the Big Red on the other end.
Barnes led Cornell with a team-high 26 points, but Venable and the Princeton defense held the Big Red's second-leading scorer coming in, Cody Toppert, to just eight points on 2 of 11 shooting from the floor and just two points in the second half. The Big Red made 18 of their 21 free-throw attempts in the second half to keep within striking distance for most of the half, but Princeton made 15 of its 23 free-throw attempts in the last 20 minutes as well.
The Big Red jumped to an early lead of 16-9 midway through the first half after Toppert's second three-pointer of the game, but Princeton then scored nine of the next 11 points after that to tie the game at 18 four minutes later. The Tigers would lead 28-25 at halftime thanks to a three-point shot from Scott Greenman with 1:41 left in the half.
Cornell scored seven seconds into the second half to pull within 28-27, but never could take the lead.
The Tigers, who play at Columbia tomorrow night (7 p.m., WPRB 103.3 FM, GoPrincetonTigers.com), shot 23 for 46 (50%) from the field and outrebounded Cornell 34-25, including 12-7 on the offensive glass. Ed Persia added six assists for Princeton, who also got six rebounds off the bench from freshman Harrison Schaen.
Princeton held Cornell to 42% shooting from the field. The Tigers have held their six Ivy League opponents under 42% in a half 11 times in 12 halves this season.