Gamecenter: Cornell 71, Penn 83

1st 2nd Final
Cornell (14-10, 7-3 Ivy) 30 41 71
Penn (17-8, 8-1 Ivy) 40 43 83
The Palestra – Philadelphia, PA Boxscore
 
Postgame audio
Cornell: Steve Donahue
Penn: Glen Miller/Ibby Jaaber/Mark Zoller
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Cornell came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 53-50 lead on a Ugo Ihekweazu bucket with 12:31 remaining in the game. However, Penn responded with a 10-0 run that included two tough layups by Mark Zoller and ended with Ibby Jaaber throwing the ball off Andrew Naeve’s back on an inbounds and laying it in for a 60-63 Quaker lead at the 8:44 mark.
Key sign it was over With Penn up six, Brian Grandieri stole the ball from Geoff Reeves and went the distance for a layup that put the Quakers up eight with 1:43 to play. Following a Ryan Wittman missed three-pointer, Jaaber hit two free throws for a doubled-digit lead with 80 seconds left. When Reeves missed a jumper, Jaaber hit Zoller for a fasbreak layup to stretch the margin to 12.
Key performance Zoller had a stellar all-around game with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, five boards, six assists, and six steals.
Key statistic Both teams ended up shooting 6 of 15 from outside the arc, but Penn outscored Cornell 48-30 in the paint.
Notes

– Jaaber was the game’s high scorer with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, adding five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

– Naeve had a big game for Cornell with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks in 36 minutes.

– For the second straight night, Penn looked lackadaisical early and fell behind, with a Naeve dunk putting Cornell up 24-17 with a little over 8 minutes left in the half. However, Penn closed out the half on a 23-6 run, punctuated by a Zoller double-clutch three-pointer at the buzzer.

– After giving up the big run to end the first half, Cornell stormed out of intermission, outscoring Penn 17-6 in the first five minutes of the second half to grab a one-point lead. Wittman had seven points in a row to bring the Big Red within one, and Naeve hit a jumper to give the visitors the lead.

– In a big surprise, Penn dominated Cornell on the glass, rebounding at 44.7 percent offensively, while holding the Big Red to just 26.9-percent offensive rebounding.

– The Quakers forced 20 turnovers, leading to 28 points. Because of Penn’s tough defense, it had 10 more shots than Cornell.

– Penn outscored Cornell 8-0 in fastbreak points.

– The Big Red now travels to Yale (12-11, 8-2 Ivy) for what probably amounts to an elimination game against the Bulldogs, while Penn heads up to Harvard (10-14, 3-7 Ivy) on Friday, February 23, at 7:00 pm ET.

Daniel McQuade

Daniel McQuade wrote 21 posts

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