NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Embarrassing and humiliating were words thrown around by Cornell last week after a brutal thrashing at the hands of Dartmouth, a loss so bad it dropped the Big Red 35 slots in KenPom. More importantly, the defeat put the Big Red in Ivy League Tournament peril because it was their third straight loss and a trip to unbeaten Yale happened to be next.
Another word was prevalent at practice in Ithaca: pride. The Big Red showed plenty of it Friday night at Lee Amphitheater, pushing the Bulldogs around and leading by double digits for most of the first half.
But Yale has plenty of pride as well, of course, and in the end gutted out a 92-88 victory that clinched it a share of its sixth Ivy League title in 10 years in a tremendous showcase of Ivy League basketball.
“We have a word of the day, and one day this week it was ‘awful’ because they (Cornell) were awful against Dartmouth,” Yale coach James Jones said. “Dartmouth was unbelievable in that game, they were playing like their hair was on fire. But you knew Cornell was going to come out and give us their best shot. We get everybody’s best shot. When you’re undefeated in the league, you can turn your season around by beating us. If Columbia comes in and beats us (Saturday), that makes their season. We beat the champs on their home court.”
The win clinched a share of the Ivy League regular season crown for Yale with four games to go, a remarkable achievement considering the Bulldogs went more than a half-century with only one (2002) until a decade ago. But these days, they are just getting started.
“We all think the same, we have bigger goals, we want to win the Ivy League Tournament, we want to be undefeated and win in the NCAA Tournament,” Yale junior Nick Townsend said. “So it’s a great night, but we think we have a lot ahead of us.”
Meanwhile, despite impressively pushing Yale (17-6, 10-0) to the brink, it is still four straight losses for Cornell (13-10, 5-5), which now finds itself tied for the fourth and final Ivy Madness berth with Brown, whom it happens to play Saturday night in Providence. The Big Red already lost the first meeting with the Bears in Ithaca.
“I think as a program we’re hopefully past the point of moral victories, but we definitely wanted to show that last week was not us,” Cornell coach Jon Jaques said. “Yale is an amazing team, well-rounded and well-coached, so I’m proud of how we responded. We know we’re a really good team, and we just have to continue to play with that same focus and just compete the rest of the way.”
The Bulldogs led 2-0, but the lead would be their last for 25 minutes, as Cornell immediately took it to them, particularly AK Okereke and Jake Fiegen. Fiegen had four three-pointers in the first half, and Okereke would have a monster night with 30 points and seven assists. The Big Red would nab their biggest lead on a DJ Nix tip-in (one of nine first-half offensive rebounds for Cornell), which made it 40-25.
But the Bulldogs, winners of 11 straight and unbeaten at home this season, would not go away easily, of course, outscoring Cornell 12-2 the rest of the half to trail just 42-37 at the break.
Still, with John Poulakidas first in foul trouble, then struggling from the field, the Big Red led for most of the second half. Even after Bez Mbeng capped a run with a three-pointer to put Yale up 60-56 with 13:00 left, Cornell battled back, draining four straight from beyond the arc. The Big Red had a 78-71 lead with 6:30 remaining, but a quick 8-0 Yale run set up the dramatic finish.
Cornell led twice down the stretch, but first another Mbeng three and a Casey Simmons drive tied the game, and then Poulakidas (who finished with just 13 points on 4-for-14 shooting) found a way to rattle home a contested 15-footer with 1:50 left to give Yale the lead for good at 86-84. Simmons had a big block and dunk seconds later and the Bulldogs never relinquished the lead.
“We just had to remind them what we do when we’re at our best,” Jaques said. “I think everyone that watched those games last week knows we weren’t doing what makes Cornell basketball good, not playing for each other, sharing it. There’s always room for improvement, especially on defense, but we were fighting tonight. Yale is physical, athletic, but we went toe to toe with them, and a couple of bad bounces, missed free throws go our way, it’s a 50-50 game.”
For Yale, it was another reminder that its path back to the NCAA Tournament will not be without significant obstacles. Cornell finished at 1.21 points per possession, led by Okereke and Fiegen (23 points), as well as Nazir Williams (19 points, six rebounds, six assists), who battled with Mbeng all night. The Big Red’s 16 offensive rebounds are also a concern going forward.
But for Jones and his team, tests like this might be just what they need when things get tough in a big spot three weeks down the road. Nick Townsend had all he could handle from Okereke and Guy Ragland Jr., but still finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Simmons registered 21 points while holding Cooper Noard without a field goal.
“That was a really gutsy performance by our team,” Jones said. “Back against the wall several times, we kept fighting, never gave up. What’s great about our team is that we banded tighter as things got closer. I think that’s the mark of a really good team. At the beginning, we were a little frayed, but it was great to watch us come together and do the little things to win. There’s never been a Yale basketball team that’s undefeated in the Ivy League and we have another chance to continue this (Saturday against Columbia).”
Meanwhile, Cornell has a quick turnaround before a massive game against Brown, who blew out Columbia for its third straight win and hopes to channel the energy and effort it showed Friday. The Big Red closes with three home games against Penn, Princeton and Columbia, but would still be in big trouble at 5-6 if they lose Saturday, having lost the tiebreaker to Brown.
“We just have to quickly move on,” Jaques said. “It’s a lot easier after an effort like that, I think. The guys know every game is different and Brown is a very good team with different challenges. But we’ll lock in to our scout here and it should be a good game.”