.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Cornell
20-0 Second-Half Run Propels Cornell to 66-58 Win over Princeton in Men's Basketball
February 11, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2005
Box Score
Princeton head coach Joe Scott called a timeout with 16:57 left in the second half and the Tigers ahead of Cornell 41-33 Friday night because he could sense the Big Red getting back into the game on both ends of the floor. Unfortunately, Scott could never have known exactly what would happen next.
What happened next was a 20-0 Cornell run, a stretch that spanned nearly nine minutes and turned an eight-point deficit into a 12-point lead. And when it was over, despite the best efforts of a Tiger team desperate to get back into the game themselves, the Big Red had a 66-58 win over the Tigers and their first victory at Jadwin Gym since 1985.
The Tigers (10-10, 1-5 Ivy), who suffered a fourth-straight loss for the first time since the 1985-86 season, shot 57% for the game, their third-straight game of better than 50% shooting, and made 10 of 20 three-pointers, including eight of 12 in the first half. But the Big Red made 13 of their first 22 shots themselves, and then turned it up defensively during their big run. "We had way too many turnovers in our half-court offense," said Scott. "It wasn't so much turning it over against the pressure, it was turning it over in our offense when we were pretty successful with our offense in the first half."
Princeton had eight turnovers during Cornell's 20-0 run after turning it over just six times in a first half that ended with a 37-28 Tiger lead. Cornell (10-10, 5-2 Ivy) would convert off each of the first three turnovers in that run, and the Big Red scored 10 points in less than two minutes to take the lead for good at 43-41 on Lenny Collins's three-pointer with 15 minutes left.
Eric Taylor then converted a three-point play for Cornell after another Princeton turnover, and Collins then hit a short jumper in the lane for a 48-41 Big Red lead with 11:44 on the clock. Taylor's putback of a Cody Toppert miss with 8:04 left gave the Big Red their biggest lead, 53-41.
The Tigers then got back into it in the final minutes, using a 10-3 run to pull within four points at 60-56 on Will Venable's two free throws with 2:33 left. Taylor then missed two free throws for Cornell on the other end, but Graham Dow stole the ball from Scott Greenman on Princeton's next possession.
Princeton still trailed by just four points a minute later, but Venable's three-pointer was off the mark. Ryan Rourke made one of two free throws for Cornell, but Princeton's Luke Owings missed a jump shot on his team's next possession and the Big Red made five of six free throws to close out the game.
Taylor led Cornell with 17 points, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, while Rourke and Collins each ahd 13 points and Toppert 12 points off the bench. The Big Red shot 55% for the game themselves (22 for 40) and committed just two second-half turnovers.
Judson Wallace led the Tigers with 17 points, with 14 of those points coming in the first half. Greenman shot 5-for-6 for Princeton and had 13 points, while Owings had all 10 of his points in the first half.
Princeton ran its offense nearly to perfection in the first half, shooting 67% (14 for 21) on the way to a nine-point halftime lead. Owings' three-pointer three minutes into the game got the Tigers on the board and started a stretch in which Princeton made 10 of its next 12 shots. The final shot in that stretch was a three-pointer by Wallace that gave the Tigers a 26-18 lead.
Princeton stretched its halftime lead to 37-28 when Greenman made a three-pointer from the corner with 31 seconds on the clock.
The Tigers last started Ivy League play 1-5 in the 1978-79 season.
NOTES * Cornell's last win at Jadwin Gym prior to Friday was a 48-42 victory over the Tigers on Feb. 10, 1985.
* Princeton is shooting 43% (48 for 112) from three-point range in Ivy League play. The Tigers made 10 of 20 three-point shots Friday, but made just 2 of 8 from three-point range in the second half.
* Cornell had seven assists and two turnovers in the second half. Princeton had three assists and 13 turnovers in the second half.