Gamecenter: NJIT 58, Cornell 69

Posted on by Jake Wilson in Cornell, Gamecenter, Ivy League
1st 2nd Final
NJIT (2-13) 26 32 58
Cornell (7-7) 30 39 69
Newman Arena – Ithaca, NY Boxscore
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Andrew Engel hit a three-pointer in the corner just before the halftime buzzer to cut Cornell’s lead to 30-26 at intermission. The Big Red got three-pointers on its first two possessions of the second half to claim a double-digit lead. NJIT closed to within five on two Clayton Barker free throws with 16:05 left, but Graham Dow answered with a layup on the next Cornell possession. A pair of free throws by Andrew Naeve two minutes later made it a nine-point game, as the Big Red would score on four straight possessions to open up its largest lead of the game to that point at 47-35 with 11:35 remaining.
Key sign it was over The Highlanders trimmed a 15-point deficit to 10 at the 2:38 mark with two free throws after Naeve was slapped with a technical foul, and they had a chance to climb within single digits, but Kraig Peters was called for an offensive foul. Louis Dale found Conor Mullen for a fastbreak layup, and Dow then came up with a steal, but Brian Kreefer couldn’t sink either attempt at the line. Engel was fouled with 1:28 left, but could only hit one of two free throws. Cornell then ran 25 seconds off the clock before NJIT eventually fouled Dow, whose free throws pushed the margin to 13. Marc Milbourne Swan’s layup at the other end with 52 ticks left would the final scoring of the game, as the Highlanders conceded defeat by electing not to foul.
Key performance Dale had an outstanding night at the point for Steve Donahue, scoring 14 points on just six shots. The freshman recorded nine assists against three turnovers, while grabbing three boards and blocking a shot in 35 minutes.
Key statistic The two teams had similar numbers from inside the arc and from the free throw line, but it was the difference in outside shooting that decided this one. NJIT hit only 1 of 11 (9.1 percent) from three-point range, while Cornell shot well from distance at 8 of 16 (50.0 percent).
Notes

– Ryan Wittman was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points — 14 of which came in the first half, while Dow also had a strong game with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

– Milbourne Swan had a big night for the Highlanders off the bench, scoring 20 points in 24 minutes.

– The game featured only seven total offensive rebounds, as Cornell rebounded at 18.2 percent offensively, while NJIT was almost non-existent on the offensive glass at just 9.7 percent.

– Mullen earned extensive playing time, scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

– The Big Red had an 8-0 edge in fastbreak points.

– Cornell closed out the non-league portion of its schedule at 7-7 — the first non-losing season outside the league under Donahue. The Big Red opens Ivy play when Penn (7-6) visits Newman Arena on Friday, January 12 at 7:00 pm ET.

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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