Gamecenter: Penn 74, Cornell 56

1st 2nd Final
Penn (8-6, 1-0 Ivy) 40 34 74
Cornell (7-8, 0-1 Ivy) 36 20 56
Newman Arena – Ithaca, NY Boxscore
 
Postgame audio
Penn: Glen Miller | Ibby Jaaber | Brian Grandieri
Cornell: Steve Donahue
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence An Alex Tyler layup brought Cornell to within 54-49 with 11:06 left, but Brian Grandieri and Kevin Egee would power an 18-2 Penn run that turned a competitive game into a blowout. Grandieri got things started with a pair of jumpers, then after an offensive basket interference call on a putback dunk by Andrew Naeve, Egee atoned for a missed three-pointer with threes on consecutive possessions to push the margin to 15. After two Graham Dow free throws, Grandieri hit another jumper, then Egee tipped in his own miss. A Grandieri layup and two Egee free throws pushed the Quaker advantage to 21 with 3:03 left, as the Big Red’s field goal drought eventually would surpass nine minutes.
Key sign it was over With 1:27 to play in the game, Glen Miller began to clear his bench, starting with reserve Aron Cohen. Cohen was joined by Adam Franklin and Joe Gill 16 seconds later, with Gill making only his fourth appearance of the season.
Key performance On a quiet scoring night for Ibby Jaaber, Brian Grandieri stepped up with a game-high 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a number of driving, leaning mid-range shots. Grandieri added four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 32 turnover-free minutes.
Key statistic The perimeter-oriented Big Red came out looking to work the ball down low, attempting just one three-pointer in the first eight minutes. In the end, however, the Quakers dominated inside the arc, outscoring their hosts 38-22 in the paint, including a 28-10 margin in the first half. Penn shot 26 of 46 (56.5 percent) on two-pointers — compared to 13 of 35 (37.1 percent) for Cornell.
Notes

– Ryan Wittman was the Big Red’s leading scorer. He recorded 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including a 2-for-5 night from three-point range, and made six of seven free throw attempts.

– Penn committed only five turnovers on the night and recorded eight steals. Cornell committed 16 turnovers – which the Quakers turned into 16 points – and did not record any steals.

– Penn shot a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line.

– Penn was a frigid 4-for-16 (25.0 percent) from three-point range, while Cornell hit 6 of 13 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc.

– The two teams’ rebounding statistics were identical — nine offensive rebounds and 32 total boards apiece. Mark Zoller had a game-high seven, while three of Jaaber’s six rebounds came at the offensive end.

– The announced attendance of 1,492 did not include many Cornell students, as they are still on winter break for another two weeks.

– Penn’s next game is against fellow Ivy unbeaten Columbia (10-5, 1-0 Ivy) on Saturday, January 13 at Levien Gym at 7:00 pm ET. The game will be televised in the New York area on SNY and in the Mid-Atlantic region on CN8. At the same time, Cornell will welcome Princeton (9-5, 0-1 Ivy) to Newman Arena, as both teams search for their first Ivy win.

Jonathan Tannenwald

Jonathan Tannenwald wrote 29 posts

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