PRINCETON, N.J. -- Senior Jake Fiegen scored 20 points on a perfect shooting night and Cornell rolled to an 89-65 victory over Princeton on Friday evening at Jadwin Gymnasium. The Big Red (12-10, 5-4 Ivy League) have won five of their past six games and four straight Ivy League road contests, continuing a late-season surge with one of their most complete performances of the year. The Tigers slipped to 8-16 (4-5 Ivy) with the loss.
Fiegen went 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 23 minutes to pace a balanced Cornell attack. The Big Red shot 55 percent overall (33-of-60) and made 14-of-32 from 3-point range, including 9-of-17 in the second half. Cornell never trailed after the opening minutes and seized control midway through the first half with a decisive run.
Senior Adam Hinton added 12 points and four rebounds, while classmaet Cooper Noard scored 11 and Josh Baldwin finished with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists. Gio Panzini had nine points, both Kaspar Sepp and Anthony Nimani added seven and Jacob Beccles and Mateen Rafiq scored six apiece. The visitors shot .548 in the first half and .552 percent in the second, improving to 4-1 in its last five games. Cornell also held a 34-27 edge on the glass.
After Princeton pulled within 6-4, Cornell answered with a 9-0 burst, highlighted by 3-pointers from Beccles and Noard and a dunk by Beccles, to push the lead to 13-4. The Tigers never got closer than five the rest of the way and trailed by double figures for the final 28 minutes.
The Big Red built the advantage to 15-4 on a Baldwin layup and extended it to double digits at 17-6 on a Fiegen basket in the paint. Cornell led by as many as 20 in the opening half and took a 44-27 edge into the break after DJ Nix scored inside in the closing seconds.
Princeton shot just 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) in the first half and finished at 37.3 percent for the game. The Tigers were outrebounded 34-27 and committed 10 turnovers that Cornell turned into 14 points.
Dalen Davis led Princeton with 19 points, while Malik Abdullahi added 14.
Cornell kept its foot on the gas in the second half. A 3-pointer by Fiegen and a dunk from him on the next possession stretched the lead to 51-29. Later, back-to-back 3s from Noard made it 72-52 with just over eight minutes remaining.
The Big Red's bench provided a major lift, contributing 32 points. Panzini scored nine, Sepp added six rebounds to his seven points, and Rafiq knocked down a pair of late 3-pointers as Cornell pushed the margin to as many as 32 before reserves took over. Cornell's 24-point margin of victory was its biggest at Jadwin since Cornell earned an 82-56 triumph on Jan. 18. 1958.
The Big Red will look to complete a weekend road sweep when it travels to Penn on Saturday, Feb. 14 for a Valentine's Day matchup in the City of Brotherly Love. Tipoff at the Palestra is set for 6 p.m.
