Box Score
Photo Gallery (photos by Tim McKinney)

ITHACA, N.Y. — The sophomore tandem of Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman combined for 49 points and 15 rebounds to help Cornell snap an 18-game losing streak to Penn, topping the three-time defending Ivy League champions 87-74 on Saturday evening in front of a sold-out Newman Arena. With the win, Cornell remained unbeaten in league play at 6-0 and bumped its record to 14-5. Penn slipped to 7-14 (2-2 Ivy) with the loss.

Wittman had a career-high 25 points and added six rebounds, including hitting four second half treys that turned the tide, and Dale added a career-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists in the victory. Cornell shot 49 percent from the floor and made 27-of-29 free throws in collecting the victory. Adam Gore chipped in with 14 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 day at the charity stripe. Cornell held a 36-31 edge on the backboards and hit 10 3-pointers while shooting 59 percent from beyond the arc. The 6-0 start is Cornell’s first in Ivy League play since the 1964-65 squad opened its Ancient Eight season with 11 consecutive wins.

The victory extended several streaks, including givign the program its first eight-game win streak since the 1987-88 Ivy title-winning team took home 11 consecutive triumphs. The Big Red also improved to 8-1 at home this season as 4,473 fans watched the win. The game marked Cornell’s first sellout since that same number appeared at a 69-64 loss to Princeton on Feb. 13, 2004.

Andreas Schreiber netted 23 points and ripped down nine boards to lead the Penn attack, while freshman guard Harrison Gaines had an impressive 19-point, seven-assist, zero-turnover effort off the bench. Brian Grandieri posted 12 points as the third Quaker in double figures. Penn shot 45 percent for the game, but connected on just 11-of-19 from the line in the loss.

While not its sharpest game, Cornell made big plays down the stretch when it counted. After a five-point halftime lead was cut to two on a Remy Cofield trey just 40 seconds into the second half to make it 41-39, Wittman hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to push the edge back to 11. The lead eventually grew to 15 (65-50) with 10:05 left before Penn made a final run, going on a 19-6 spurt that got the visitors to within 71-69 with 4:35 left when Jack Eggleston hit a trey. Again, Wittman had the answer. The sophomore dribbled around a screen and pulled up fro mthe top of the key for his fourth and final 3-pointer of the second half. A turnover by Penn turned into a bucket by Jeff Foote, and a missed jumper on the other end turned into two Dale free throws. When Foote passed up a layup to find Gore for a 3-pointer with 2:24 left, the lead was back to an insurmountable 12 points (81-69).

Despite battling foul trouble, sophomore forward Alex Tyler made all four of his shots from the floor for nine points and added four boards in just 17 minutes. Senior forward Jason Hartford also scored seven points and Foote had five points, eight rebounds and three assists without a turnover to account for Cornell’s post efforts.

Like opponents have nearly the entire Ivy season, Penn gave Cornell an early shot, jumping out to a 9-5 edge. In a half that would eventually see seven ties and seven lead changes, the Big Red eventually pulled out to a seven-point lead after a 3-pointer by Wittman and two free throws on the next possession made it 41-34 with 45 seconds left before the break. Penn’s Justin Reilly took a feed from Brian Grandieri and swished a jumper 10 seconds later to cut the deficit to five at 41-36, which would prove to be the halftime score.

Dale with 12 points and five rebounds led Cornell, while Schreiber had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 16 productive minutes to lead the Quakers. Gaines added nine points and three assists in 13 minutes off the pine for the Quakers, who shot 50 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.

Cornell returns to action on Friday, Feb. 15 when it faces Harvard at 7 p.m. at Lavietes Pavillion.

Source: (cornellbigred.com)