PRINCETON, N.J. –
Shonn Miller scored a game high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but unlike the first meeting, it was a late Princeton run that put the game away to give the Tigers a 66-53 sin on Friday evening at Jadwin Gymnasium. The Tigers evened their record at 14-14 (7-5 Ivy), while the Big Red fell to 13-15 (5-8 Ivy).
Miller scored at least 24 points for the third time in his last four games and grabbed at least eight rebounds for the sixth time in the last seven, but Princeton's balanced offense (three double figure scorers, five players with at least eight points) and 47 percent shooting against arguably the league's best defense gave the home team the win.
After a 22-0 Big Red run late in the first meeting lifted Cornell to a 68-60 victory, an 11-3 run for the home team essentially ended the contest.
The Big Red committed just eight turnovers, but shot just 4-of-21 from 3-point range (19 percent).
Galal Cancer had 10 points, three rebounds and two assists and
JoJo Fallas notched five points, two rebounds and two assists.
Devin Cherry had five points and four assists in the loss.
Cornell forced 16 Princeton turnovers, but the Tigers shot 56 percent after halftime to claim the win. The home team made 25-of-30 free throws, while Cornell attempted just 12 on the evening.
The Tigers had the better of an uneven first half of basketball, taking a 32-25 lead into halftime. The highlight for the Big Red was an amazing dunk by Miller in transition over a Tiger defender to get the visitors within 21-19. Cornell stuck around much of the first half despite continued struggles shooting the ball, but Princeton created some separation late in the first 20 minutes.
A 10-2 Big Red run that included an alley-oop dunk and 3-pointer by Miller, a driving layup by
Robert Mischler and a 3-pointer by Cancer cut an 11-point Princeton lead to five (53-48) with eight and a half minutes to play, but the Tigers clamped back down. Cornell missed its next three shots, while Princeton got a backdoor layup and four free throws to extend the lead back to nine. The visitors wouldn't get back within seven points the rest of the way.
The Big Red will close out its season tomorrow when it plays Penn at the Palestra at 7 p.m.