Men's Basketball Falls To Cornell

Saturday, January 25

Princeton, N.J.

2:00 PM

Princeton University

14-5,3-1Ivy League

Cornell

11-6,3-1Ivy League

Cornell

Princeton

January 25, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University men's basketball team battled back from a 16-point deficit but could not hold on Saturday afternoon inside Jadwin Gymnasium as the Tigers fell to Cornell, 85-76.

Junior Caden Pierce recorded his 26th career double-double with 20 points, which tied the team-high, a game-high 10 rebounds and five assists, a number that also tied the team-high. Senior Blake Peters had a career-high 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field and 6-for-11 shooting from three along with four rebounds. Peters, who now has 170 made three-pointers in his career, moved up to No. 7 all-time in program history in made three-point field goals. Junior Xaivian Lee added 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Jack Scott finished with a season-high 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

An early 15-0 run by the Big Red propelled Cornell to a 23-7 advantage with 9:44 remaining in the half. A three-pointer by Peters with 8:58 on the clock led a 6-0 run that made it a 10-point game at 7:35, 23-13, then a Pierce layup ignited an 11-0 run that narrowed the deficit to two, 26-24, with 4:22 on the clock.

A Peters three-pointer with 2:37 left in the half tied it up 32-32, then a Scott step-back three-pointer at 0:54 followed by a Lee layup saw Princeton take a 37-36 advantage into the half.

Lee opened the second half with five-straight points that put the Tigers in front, 42-36, with 19:07 remaining. The Big Red soon fought back, jumping ahead with 14:43 on the clock, 49-47, but three-pointers by Pierce and Peters helped the Tigers regain the lead at 11:11, 55-49.

Princeton and Cornell played to a 64-64 stalemate with 6:11 remaining, then Cornell jumped ahead with 3:45 remaining, 71-67. With 2:51 left to play, an 8-0 run by the Big Red saw Cornell surge ahead by 11, 79-68. From there, the Tigers were able to narrow the deficit to six at 1:11, 79-73, after a pair of Pierce free throws followed by a Peters three-pointer, but the Big Red managed to hold on for the 85-76 victory.

Up Next
Princeton hosts Yale (10-6, 3-0) at 5 p.m. on Jan. 31 inside Jadwin Gymnasium on a contest broadcast live on ESPN2.