Brian Earl’s Cornell Big Red got sweet revenge Friday for the buzzer-beater loss suffered at Jadwin Gym a month ago.
The Big Red won a very tight rematch, 88-83, in which both sides eschewed defense. Five Cornell players reached double figures against the Tigers, led by Chris Manon’s 22 points. Dean Noll added 14, while Sarju Patel and Kobe Dickson each accounted for 13. Keller Boothby was good for 10.
For the Tigers, Tosan Evbuomwan (27) and Ethan Wright (26) carried the scoring load.
The game featured at least 10 lead changes, although for most of it, the Big Red had things under control.
Cornell (12-6, 4-3 Ivy) held a six-point lead at the half and extended it to 10 in the second period. Princeton (15-5, 5-2), of course, made another of its comeback efforts, finally attaining the lead at 83-81 with about two minutes remaining. Cornell finished on a 7-0 run, escaping with a hard-fought and well deserved win.
The Big Red are determined to make the Ivy’s Final Four and appear well-positioned to do so, welcoming Penn Saturday night while Yale can do great damage to Harvard’s chances in their matchup.
The Tigers will play at Columbia on Saturday night.
The Tigers have reached the halfway mark in the Ivy schedule with wins over two of the likely Ivy Madness contenders, Penn and Cornell, and a narrow loss to the favored Yale Bulldogs.
Princeton’s season may well rest on its showings against Harvard (twice) and Penn at The Palestra in the final week.
Tiger skipper Mitch Henderson did not make the trip due to COVID-19 protocols.