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NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Senior Ryan Wittman entered his big shot among the all-time list of big shots at the Mecca of College Basketball, hitting a 35-foot jumper at the buzzer to propel Cornell to the finals of the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival with a 91-88 overtime win over Davidson on Sunday afternoon. The victory improved the Big Red to 8-2, while the Wildcats slipped to 3-8.

Wittman had 29 points and connected on seven 3-pointers, but it was his long trey launched with a second to play that launched the team into a massive celebration on the court. That came after classmate Louis Dale snaked into the lane for a layup with 0.7 seconds left to send the game into an extra session, giving Wittman a chance for his heroics.

"I don't know if I have ever been around a kid that is as great a shooter and wants that moment," said Cornell head coach Steve Donahue. I think he has terrific confidence. More than that, I think he realizes that is his role on the team. When he has the ball, in situations where he has to make plays, we call his number, and to be honest with you, I knew when he released it that it was in."

Wittman added three rebounds and two assists in the victory, while senior Jeff Foote had a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double. Chris Wroblewski added 14 points and Dale had nine points, including seven in overtime after making the game-tying layup at the end of regulation. He added seven assists and five rebounds. Freshman Errick Peck had eight points and Alex Tyler had five points, four rebounds and two blocks in his first appearance since early December.

Jake Cohen scored 18 points to lead four double figure scorers for Davidson, while both Brendan McKillop and JP Kuhlman notched 17 points each. Ben Allison had 10 points, while Steve Rossiter posted seven points and 11 rebounds. The Wildcats shot 61 percent from the floor in the second half and overtime, including hitting a blistering 7-of-10 from beyond the arc to overcome a 16-point deficit.

"Obviously, I thought that was an excellent game to be a part of and watch. Both teams really play the right way and execute well," Donahue said. "Both teams got 21 assists, 11 turnovers, making big play after big play. My initial reaction, and I can't help myself, is to feel bad for the opponent because I thought they did everything they could to win the game. Obviously, I am extremely proud of our guys and the way they played to persever and get the win.

In a game played at the level of many of the great college basketball games in the storied history of Madison Square Garden, neither team led by more than four points in the final nine minutes of regulation and all of overtime, with seven ties and 12 lead changes making it one of the back-and-forth, thrilling contests in Cornell history. In the end, the Ivy League's Player of the Year in 2007-08 and the conference's all-time leading 3-point king made the shots to give the team a chance to compete for the historic title on Monday evening.

Wittman's 29 points moved him into the top 20 all-time in Ivy League scoring, pushing him to 1,623 points, good for 16th all-time. He added to his perch on the school and conference's career 3-point list with his seven, making him the first player in Ancient Eight history to surpass 300 career treys (301). Dale, meanwhile, moved within two assists of Cornell's career record with his seven dimes.

The Big Red used a suffocating defensive effort over the first 10 minutes and a hot-shooting spree to take a 44-31 lead into the break. Cornell shot 59 percent overall and hit on 6-of-10 3-pointers, whil holding Davidson to 38 percent shooting. Only a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Davidson's Brendan McKillop was able to stem the Big Red run. Cornell scored the first basket, and after being tied twice early, never trailed in the first 20 minutes. Foote and Wittman led the way with 10 points each, with Foote adding five rebounds. Peck scored eight off the bench and Dale had five assists.

Cornell's fast start was matched by the Wildcats finish in regulation. Davidson got big shot after big shot from its freshmen, Cohen and Kuhlman, and a gutty effort from senior McKillop, the son of head coach Bob McKillop. He hit several tough 3-pointers, including two at the end of the shot clock, to give him team a big lift.

The Wildcats caught the Big Red with 8:37 to play when Dan Nelms finished on a beautiful feed from McKillop. Both teams were able to get defensive stops before a scoop shot in the lane by Davidson's Nik Cochran gave the scoreboard visitors their first lead of the game, a 63-61 edge with 6:23 left. Wroblewski answered on the other end with an and-1, but after his free throw Cochran again got into the lane to hit a difficult shot off glass to push it to 65-64 Davidson.

Wroblewski nailed two free throws for yet another lead change, starting a string of six straight possessions where the lead changed. Davidson's Kuhlman nailed a 3-pointer with 1:02 left, then after a Big Red miss, Cohen hit 1-of-2 free throws to go up 75-73 with 12 seconds left. He missed the second, but Foote's outlet pass sailed out of bounds with eight ticks left. The Big Red was left to foul and hope for the best, and Cohen missed both shots in the double bonus with six seconds left. The ball was rebounded by Foote, who found Dale. He went the length of the court, nearly lost the ball with the dribble, recovered, beat two defenders into the lane, double clutched around a waiting shot blocker and bounced the layup off glass with 0.7 left on the clock to knot it at 75-75. The Wildcats desperation shot was wild, and the two teams lined up for overtime.

Cornell opened the extra period with a Dale 3-pointer, followed by a Dale jumper in the lane. Each time, Davidson answered with a score. A 3-pointer by Wroblewski momentarily pushed the lead back to four on a feed from Wittman with 2:19 left. After McKillop answered with a trey, Wittman hit a long pull-up to extend it to 86-82. Not close to done, McKillop drove the lane and scored to make it a two-point game with 1:04 left.

Misses by both teams started the procession of fouling, with Dale hitting two shots in the double bonus to go up 88-84 with 28 seconds left in OT. After Kuhlman hit a big 3-pointer to cut the deficit back to one, Dale went right back to the free-throw line. The 84 percent free-throw shooter missed both shots with 15 ticks left and Davidson rebounded. The visitors worked the ball around the perimeter, but a poke-check by Dale knocked the ball out of Kuhlman's hands. Dale was whistled for a foul on the scramble for the loose ball with under six seconds left. Kuhlman made the first to knot the game at 88-88, but missed the second. Foote rebounded the miss and quickly hot-potatoed it to Jon Jaques. Jaques looked ahead and hit Wittman, who took three quick dribbled and launched the bomb that found nothing but net. The team mobbed the senior as the Madison Square Garden spotlights shone on him.

Cornell will face St. John's, a 72-60 winner over Hofstra, on Monday, Dec. 21, at 9 p.m. in search of its first-ever Holiday Festival crown. The game will be televised by the Madison Square Garden network.