Men’s basketball (21-6, 10-3 Ivy) entered Friday in a precarious tie for first place in the Ivy League, looking to pick up crucial wins against Penn (11-17, 3-10 Ivy) and Princeton (23-3, 11-2 Ivy).
In hopes of taking a major step towards securing the No. 1 seed in the Ivy Madness tournament, the Red ultimately split the weekend slate. A comeback effort led to an 87-81 win against Penn, while a tight back-and-forth battle versus Princeton resulted in a 79-77 defeat.
The start of Friday’s game could not have gone much worse for the Red, racking up five turnovers in its first seven possessions. Cornell would also miss its first three field goal attempts of the game.
Less than four minutes into the first half, the Quakers held a 12-0 lead, causing head coach Brian Earl to sub out all five starters –– a bold, yet effective, move. Sophomore forward AK Okereke knocked down a three-pointer shortly after checking into the game.
Despite the productivity of the bench players, the Quakers would expand its lead, holding a 21-7 advantage with 12:20 remaining. Sophomore guard Cooper Noard put a stop to Penn’s run, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to reduce the Red’s deficit to eight.
While the Red got within five points during the first half, the Quakers responded with a 15-7 run to close the half. Heading into the locker room, Cornell was losing 46-34.
After Penn opened the second half scoring with a mid-range jumper, the Red went on a 9-0 run. Just a few minutes later, back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Chris Manon and junior forward Guy Ragland Jr. tied the game at 56 points apiece.
The final 10 minutes of the game went back-and-forth between the two teams, with neither team leading by more than six. With the score knotted up at 80 with just over two minutes left, Okereke hit a clutch three-pointer to give the lead back to Cornell for good.
Cornell went on to win the game by a final score of 87-81. This was Cornell’s first victory in the Palestra since 2013.
Okereke would finish the game with a career-high 18 points, along with one rebound, two assists and a steal. Off the bench, Okereke logged more minutes than four of the team’s five starters.
Manon also played a key part of the team’s success in the second half. After being held scoreless in the first half, Manon finished the game with 11 points, five rebounds, an assist and three steals.
The Red didn’t have much time to celebrate its clutch win. Saturday’s matchup posed a tough task for Cornell –– a Princeton team that boasted a perfect 11-0 record on its home court.
The first Cornell and Princeton matchup of the year on Jan. 27 featured the high-powered Red offense scoring 83 points en route to an 83-68 Cornell victory. Junior guard Nazir Williams led the way with 20 points himself.
Despite the Red leading for a majority of Saturday’s game, a final push from the Tigers secured it the close win, 79-77, and Princeton surpassed Cornell in the Ivy League standings.
In Saturday’s meeting, an explosive offensive attack and a stingy defensive effort helped Cornell jump out to a 17-7 lead midway through the first half. Ragland Jr.’s 2-2 shooting from the three-point line gave the Red some breathing room before the Tigers’ shots began to fall.
Three turnovers within three minutes hurt Cornell and allowed Princeton to claw back into the game. Caden Pierce led the Tigers on an 8-0 run, showcasing his athleticism with a dunk that energized the Princeton crowd.
Both teams struggled from beyond the three-point line to begin the game. The Red started 3-16 while the Tigers were 2-13 on its chances, leading to many empty possessions and missed opportunities.
Williams continued his hot shooting against Princeton, taking over at the end of the first half with nine of his 23 points coming in the last seven minutes. A dribble and cut forced a Princeton switch, leading to Williams finishing through contact and setting up a three-point play.
With two minutes remaining in the half and Cornell ahead 31-24, back-to-back shots and a successful free throw by Princeton reduced the Red’s lead to one point. A Williams jumper with three seconds left following a Princeton three would put Cornell up 35-33 heading into halftime.
Both offenses came out with high energy in the second half, with 27 points being scored between both teams within the first five minutes. After Princeton guard Xaivian Lee put up five points of his own, a three-pointer by sophomore guard Cooper Noard put the Red back on top.
Noard came into the game leading all Cornell players with 47 three-pointers and added more to his resume after shooting 3-6 from beyond the arc in the game.
In front of Princeton’s third all-time biggest crowd at Jadwin Gymnasium, the Red and Tigers traded successful shots during the middle 10 minutes of the half. Williams continued to add to his point total while senior guard Chris Manon recorded 13 of his 17 points and put the Red up 66-64 with five minutes remaining.
Pierce took over for Princeton down the stretch, igniting the crowd after slamming home a dunk and drawing a foul. Seconds later, he added a layup, putting the Tigers up by three. On Cornell’s next possession, Manon missed a three-pointer and set up two free throws for Lee after a quick foul. Lee went 1-2 from the line, but the Red could not inch its way closer as it fell 79-77.
The loss drops Cornell to third place in the Ivy League Standings with one game remaining before the Ivy Madness Tournament. The finale is set for 2 p.m. on March 9, when Cornell travels to New York City to face Columbia. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.