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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Cornell
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Wittman Leads Cornell to 57-50 Win over Princeton
February 16, 2007 | Men's Basketball
An injured Kyle Koncz and an unheralded Kevin Steuerer did their best to lead Princeton back from a first-half deficit Friday night against Cornell. But the Big Red used some good luck and some big plays to earn a win that kept them within a game of the Ivy League lead.
Ryan Wittman scored a game-high 20 points, including a key jump shot with 42 seconds left, as Cornell staved off a late Princeton rally on the way to a 57-50 win before a crowd of 2,220 at Jadwin Gym and a national television audience on ESPNU.
The Tigers (10-12, 1-7 Ivy) started slowly but got back within seven points late in the first half thanks to Koncz, who had 14 of his team-high 18 points in the first 20 minutes, hitting four three-point shots in the half. Princeton then made a second-half run behind Steuerer, who scored 10 of his 12 points in the final 20 minutes, including a layup with 4:20 left that pulled his team within 43-39.
Cornell (14-9, 7-2 Ivy) would then get a bit of good fortune, as Louis Dale's three-point shot near the end of the shot clock banked in with 3:39 left to put his team back ahead by seven. Steuerer then hit a three-pointer for Princeton on the other end, and the Tigers still trailed by just four at 50-46 after a Koncz putback with 1:13 on the clock. But Wittman then scored for Cornell at the end of the shot clock, hitting a contested 18-foot jumper to put his team back ahead by six in the final minute.
"I think it's obvious how much Kyle means to us when he's out there," said Princeton head coach Joe Scott about Koncz, who shot 7 for 9 from the field and had five rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. "He's playing on one foot, hasn't practiced in over a month and is still able to go out there and give that effort. Kevin has given us a huge lift in the last two games, and what he did for us in the second half gave us a great chance."
"We did a nice job defensively in the second half, but you have to give Wittman credit," said Scott. "That was a huge shot and a huge play in the game."
Princeton, which limited Cornell to just 37% shooting, including 25% shooting in the second half, held the Big Red without a point for more than eight minutes in the second half. Trailing 43-32 after Jason Battle's layup with 11:54 left, the Big Red wouldn't score again until Dale's banked three-point shot.
Steuerer shot 5 for 7 from the field for the Tigers, who play Columbia Saturday night at Jadwin Gym (7:35 p.m., Patriot 8). The Big Red play at 7-1 Penn Saturday night, while Yale stayed even with Cornell in the league standings at 7-2 thanks to a come-from-behind 69-66 win over Dartmouth.
Cornell scored the game's first seven points Friday night and led 15-3 after Dale's three-pointer six minutes in. The Tigers then got five points from Koncz to pull within 16-10 midway through the half, but the Big Red then scored nine straight points after that to lead 25-10 with seven minutes to go.
"Obviously the first seven minutes of the game were a key stretch," said Scott. "They put us behind early and it was a fight the rest of the way."
A Koncz three-pointer with 2:04 left pulled the Tigers within seven points at 29-22, and another deep three from the Princeton junior at the halftime buzzer made it 36-25 Cornell.
Dale had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Big Red, while Andrew Naeve had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Cornell before fouling out in the second half. Cornell made 25 of 32 free-throw attempts, including 14 of 18 in the first half.
NOTES
* Koncz made four of his six three-point shots, including four of five in the first 20 minutes. The junior has made at least three three-point shots in 11 of his 20 appearances this season.
* Princeton made the first of two appearances this season on ESPNU. The Tigers' season finale against Penn at Jadwin Gym March 6 will also be televised by that network.
* Steuerer's 12 points were a career high. He also had three rebounds and an assist in the game.