PRINCETON, N.J. -- Five players reached double figures and Cornell staved off a furious Princeton rally to hold on for an 85-82 victory over the Tigers on Saturday evening at Jadwin Gymnasium. The win provided a the Big Red with a highlight to close its campaign - its first sweep of the Tigers in a decade. Cornell closed its season with a 7-20 record (4-10 Ivy), while the Tigers slipped to 14-13 (9-5 Ivy).
Dean Noll had 18 points in a return to his home state and
Jimmy Boeheim had 14, including a key three-point play that erased a Princeton lead with just over a minute to play en route to the victory. Cornell made 11-of-17 3-pointers on the night, and it's .647 3-point percentage on the night was the sixth-best single-game average in school history. The Big Red shot 59 percent from the floor overall.
Terrance McBride and
Kobe Dickson each netted 12 points,
Riley Voss had 11 and
Josh Warren, playing his final collegiate game, recorded nine points, four assists and a blocked shot.
Jaelin Llewellyn had a career-high 30 points for Princeton, who nearly erased a 14-point deficit by taking a lead with under two minutes remaining before Cornell rallied. Jerome Derosiers scored 16 points, Ryan Schwieger notched 11 and Richmond Aririguzoh scored six points with 10 rebounds. The Tigers were a perfect 16-of-16 from the free-throw line and made 14-of-30 3-pointers. In all, Princeton shot 50 percent from the floor and 47 percent from beyond the arc.
First Half
• Princeton controlled the first 10 minutes, but Cornell was able to claw back a number of times, tying the contest three times - the last time at 23-23 on a Riley Voss 3-pointer.
• Boeheim hit an incredibly tough scoop shot to knot the game at 18-18, then scored again to knot the game at 20-20.
• The Tigers' lead ballooned to seven at the final media timeout before Cornell got back to within three at the half.
• Voss had 11 points in the first half and Dickson had eight as Cornell hit 6-of-8 treys.
• Llewellyn (13) and Desrosiers (11) combined for 24 points for the Tigers.
Second Half
• Warren slipped a screen for a layup to get Cornell within one to open the second half and two minutes later hit a 3-pointer to put the visitors in the lead.
• A 14-6 Big Red run was punctuated by a pair of Noll 3-pointers that pushed Cornell's lead to 69-57 with 10 minutes remaining.
• Cornell maintained its double figure lead that grew to as many as 14 until five straight points by Ryan Langborg cut the deficit to eight (76-68) with 4:41 left.
• Less that three minutes later, the Cornell lead was one with Llewellyn scoring 11 straight.
• Llewellyn's driving basket with 1:32 left gave Princeton a 79-78 advantage and got the crowd going on Senior Night.
• Twenty five seconds later, Boeheim was fouled after a pair of post fakes and got a good bounce to complete a three-point play, giving Cornell an 81-79 edge.
• After a defensive stop, Boeheim hit two more free throws, then two more after a Richmond Aririguzoh three-point play to make it 85-82.
• The Tigers got a final shot, but Llewellyn's 3-point attempt rimmed out.
• Noll scored 15 second half points to lead Cornell, which shot 64 percent from the field in the second half.
Up Next
• The Big Red closes out the regular season with the always treacherous Penn-Princeton road trip starting with a rematch against the Quakers on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m. at the Palestra.
