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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Cornell
Cornell Comes Back in Second Half, Holds off Princeton 52-49 in Men's Basketball
February 26, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2005
Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. - When the game was in its final seconds, with the outcome certainly still in jeopardy, Princeton executed a baseline inbounds play about as well as it possibly could. But in this most frustrating of men's basketball seasons for the Tigers, what looked perfect ended up just a little bit short.
Judson Wallace's layup attempt in the final seconds missed, and a Wallace tip-in attempt of his first shot wouldn't fall either, and Cornell escaped with a 52-49 win over Princeton and its first season sweep of the Tigers since the 1984-85 season.
Lenny Collins had put Cornell (12-13, 7-5 Ivy) ahead 50-49 with two free throws with 31 seconds left, and the Tigers (13-12, 4-7 Ivy) were awarded the ball underneath their own basket with 8.5 seconds left when an errant pass deflected off a Cornell player. After a Princeton timeout, Wallace went backdoor, but his left-handed layup was contested and his tip-in hit the front rim. Cornell's Ryan Rourke then hit two free throws with two seconds left to put the Big Red up by three, and Andrew Naeve had a steal for Cornell as time expired. Cornell got back into the game in the second half thanks to suddenly poor shooting by Princeton and suddenly hot shooting by senior guard Cody Toppert, one of three seniors playing their final game in Newman Arena. Princeton led 27-18 at halftime, but two Toppert three-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half pulled the Big Red within six. Then, with Princeton going more than six minutes without scoring, Toppert hit two more big three-pointers, the final one giving Cornell at 42-36 lead with eight minutes left.
Princeton rallied to tie the game at 44 on two Wallace free throws with 4:05 left, and led again at 49-48 when Luke Owings rebounded a Wallace miss and scored with 1:48 left. But Eric Taylor then blocked a Wallace attempt with 1:23 left to give Cornell the ball, and Collins was fouled driving to the basket with 31 seconds left.
"We looked like a very tired ballclub tonight," said Princeton head coach Joe Scott. "I didn't like the way we looked out on the floor early even when we had the big lead."
Owings led Princeton 16 points, shooting 6 for 7 from the field and a perfect 3 for 3 from three-point range, but had just three of those points after halftime. The Tigers shot 48% in the first half but made just seven of 21 shots in the final 20 minutes.
"Luke played a great game tonight," said Scott. "He really battled through being tired and gave us a great effort."
Toppert's five three-pointers gave him a team-high 15 points, while Jason Canady had 11 points and Collins 10. The Big Red won despite shooting just 33 percent for the game (13 for 39). Cornell missed just two of its 22 free-throw attempts.
"Give them a lot of credit, because they were having the same kinds of problems we were early," said Scott. "Toppert was the big key in the second half getting those open looks and making them."
Princeton took advantage of cold Cornell shooting to take a big early lead. The Tigers 14-3 after an Owings layup ten minutes into the first half, and Cornell scored no field goals in a 14-minute span after Taylor scored 41 seconds into the game. Still, Cornell was within four points at 22-18 with 2:10 left in the half, but a Tiger steal led to a Mike Stephens layup as time expired in the first half that gave Princeton a nine-point lead.
Will Venable played just 24 minutes for the Tigers after injuring his rib early in the game. Venable was 1 for 6 from the field. Owings was Princeton's only player in double figures.