Action two weekends ago had seemed to instill some order in the Ivy League standings. That sense is now gone, as three teams are suddenly jockeying for second place after a wild weekend of play.
Six days after escaping a determined Dartmouth team, Cornell was unable to work its magic on Friday night, falling to Yale 72-60. The Elis (11-13, 6-4 Ivy) were able to shut down the Big Red (18-8, 8-2) in the second half, holding Cornell to 34.5 percent from the field and outscoring them by 14.
Yale had four players in double figures, including Alex Zampier with 15 points. Travis Pinnick had a solid all-around performance, chipping in with 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Cornell was led by Ryan Wittman, who had 21 points on the strength of five three-pointers. An uncharacteristically poor performance by Louis Dale hurt the Big Red’s chances. Dale finished with only seven points on 3-of-12 shooting and had five turnovers.
In need of a victory to remain comfortably in first, the Big Red crushed Brown (7-17, 1-9) on Saturday, 85-45. Balanced scoring in the first half allowed Cornell to cruise to a 15-point halftime lead.
Cornell had five players with 10 or more points, led by Jeff Foote’s 16 points and nine rebounds in only 19 minutes of play. Wittman finished with 15 points and four assists.
Matt Mullery had a strong game for the Bears in the defeat, finishing with 11 points and five rebounds.
In the past 50 years, Dartmouth had not swept Penn and Princeton over a weekend in league play. But with Ivy League Player of the Week Alex Barnett and Rookie of the Week David Rufful leading the way, the Big Green finally picked up the historic weekend sweep.
Dartmouth (8-16, 6-4) jumped out to an early 11-point lead against Penn (8-15, 4-5), and the Quakers never led as the Big Green defeated them 69-59. Penn struggled offensively, shooting 36.5 percent and turning the ball over 12 times.
Dartmouth was led by Barnett’s 20 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. The Big Green also got double-digit contributions from Rufful (11 points) and Elgin Fitzgerald, who scored 10 points off the bench.
The Quakers were led by freshman Zack Rosen, who had a strong all-around game with 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Saturday’s victory against Princeton (10-12, 5-4) was not nearly as easy. Trailing 61-60 late after a Douglas Davis free throw, Barnett stepped up in typical fashion, draining six free throws in the final minutes en route to a 66-63 nailbiter at Jadwin Gymnasium.
Barnett finished with 22 points and six rebounds. Rufful again put up big numbers, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds.
Despite shooting 59 percent overall for the game, the Tigers were unable to maintain the lead they had held throughout most of the first half. Princeton was led by Dan Mavraides, who scored 19 points, and Davis, who poured in 16 on just six shots.
Harvard (11-13, 3-7) split the weekend series but was unable to make a push up the Ivy standings. On Friday night, Princeton erased a four-point Harvard halftime lead by forcing the Crimson to 38.1 percent shooting in the second half as the Tigers held on for a 58-55 win.
Jeremy Lin and Drew Housman combined for 29 points in the losing effort. The Tigers forced 14 Crimson giveaways and capitalized with 11 points off turnovers. Davis highlighted the box score for Princeton with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
Following the tough loss, Harvard rebounded against Penn, defeating the Quakers 66-60. The Crimson quickly took the Quakers out of rhythm, forcing Penn to 31 perecnt from the field in the first half.
Lin and Housman again led the way with Housman pouring in 22 points and five assists and Lin contributing 12 and six, respectively. The Harvard defense also showed up in the win. The Crimson guards effectively contained the Penn trio of Rosen, Bernardini, and Gaines, holding them to a combined 16 points.
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