Box Score Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Penn opened the second half on a 15-0 run and shocked Cornell 79-64 on Friday evening at the Palestra. The Quakers win snapped the Big Red's eight-game win streak behind 24 points by Jack Eggleston and 22 more from Zack Rosen. Penn improved to 4-15 (3-2 Ivy), while the Big Red slipped to 20-4 (6-1 Ivy).
Penn shot 65 percent from the floor after halftime and made 6-of-8 3-pointers after the break with Rosen running the show. The sophomore added five assists, three rebounds and three steals to his scoring total, while Eggleston hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and 8-of-12 shots overall. He also ripped down five rebounds. Mike Howlett, who missed 11 games due to injury, returned with nine points and nine rebounds.
Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale each scored 16 points, while Jeff Foote chipped in with 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Cornell shot 57 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes, but just 33 percent in the second half while trying to chase the Quakers on the scoreboard.
Penn's scrappy defense and deliberate offense helped limit the first half possessions in taking a 32-31 halftime lead into the break. It was the first time in 13 games that Cornell trailed at the break. Foote had seven points and seven rebounds. Dale had seven points and four assists and Wittman had seven points as well. Errick Peck gave the Big Red a spark off the bench with five consecutive points to go along with two rebounds in five minutes of action. Rosen led Penn with 10 points and two steals.
Cornell watched Penn steal the game away in the first five and a half minutes after the break, scoring the first 15 points in succession.
It started innocently enough with a layu by Eggleston after a Cornell turnover, followed by a Howlett jumper and an Eggleston trey. A 3-pointer by Belcore and five quick points by Rosen extended the lead to 47-31 with 14:37 left in the half. Cornell finally got on the scoreboard with a free throw by Foote and a Wittman trey. The Big Red later cut the deficit to five with seven minutes remaining after a Tyler three-point play after an offensive rebound, but it would be the closest the visitors would get. The lead ballooned back to 16 with 2:16 left, and Cornell couldn't make a final run.
Cornell returns to action tomorrow when it meets Princeton at 6 p.m. at Jadwin Gymnasium. The teams each won on their respective home courts a season ago.
