PRINCETON, N.J. -- Princeton scored 54 second half points and overcame a 13-point second half deficit to top Cornell 89-82 on Friday evening in a battle for first place in the Ivy League standings. The Big Red dropped to 15-6 (5-3 Ivy), while the Tigers improved to 15-6 (6-2 Ivy).

Princeton shot 67 percent in the second half and 58 percent for the game and the Big Red went ice cold, hitting just one of its final 13 3-point attempts in the loss. The defeat overshadowed a 23-point, seven-rebound, three-assist, three-steal, two-block effort from Chris Manon as the Big Red lost for its second time in the past three games. Besides Manon's effort, Isaiah Gray had 13 points and Sean Hansen scored 12, with Greg Dolan, Keller Boothby and Guy Ragland Jr. netting eight points apiece.

Tosan Evbuomwan had 17 points to lead the Tigers, with Matt Allocco scoring 16 to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Princeton overcame 18 turnovers with second half defense, limiting the visitors to 36 percent shooting (2-of-14 from 3-point range) after the Big Red shot 62 percent in the first 20 minutes.

The loss dropped Cornell into a tie for second place with Yale at 5-3, one game behind the Tigers (6-2) and a game clear of fourth-place teams Brown, Dartmouth and Penn - all at 4-4.


 

First Half

• The Big Red raced out to a 5-0 lead, but a 10-2 Princeton run allowed the home team to go up by three at the first media timeout.
• After missing its first shot of the night, the Tigers made nine of their next 10 to go up by as many as seven (20-13).
• Cornell answered right back with a 19-4 run that included run-out dunks by Manon and Gray to put the visitors up 35-26.
• The lead was 45-35 at the break with Cornell shooting 62 percent from the floor and turning Princeton over nine times.
• Gray and Manon each had 11 points to lead the Big Red, with Manon adding four rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot.
• Evbuomwan led the Tigers, who shot 50 percent themselves, with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.
• Cornell held decisive advantages on the fastbreak (10-0), points off turnovers (15-4) and in the paint (26-16).
 

Second Half

• The second half opened with a Dolan 3-pointer to push the lead to 13, but it was largely Princeton from there.
• The Tigers answered with a 16-3 run to tie the score at 51-51 with 13:12 left on a Peters 3-pointer, one of five he hit on the evening.
• Cornell started the half 3-for-14 while the Tigers made 6-of-8 over the first eight minutes (11-14 to open the half) to grab the lead.
• By the time Cooper Noard hit a 3-pointer with under a minute to play to get within four, Cornell had missed 12 consecutive 3-point shots.
• Manon converted a three-point play with 41 seconds left to get Cornell within two, but Deven Austin answered on the other end to all but put the Big Red away.
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Next Up

• The Big Red will look for a season sweep of Penn when it visits the Quakers on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. at the Palestra.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• Cornell is in search of its first season sweep of Penn since 2011 and its first triumph at the Palestra since 2013.