Penn hands surprise defeat to Cornell, loses to Columbia

It was pandemonium at the Palestra Friday night when Penn (4-16, 3-3 Ivy) upset then-No. 22 Cornell (21-4, 7-1 Ivy) to win its first home game of the season. The Quakers led by only one at intermission, but a 15-0 run to open the second half really put the game away, as Penn ended up winning 79-64.

The Quakers benefited tremendously from impressive performances by junior forward Jack Eggleston and sophomore guard Zack Rosen. Eggleston had a career-high 24 points—15 of which came in the second half—and grabbed five rebounds. Rosen contributed 22 points on 6-for-12 shooting and also tallied five assists and three steals.

Though Big Red seniors Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale each had 16 points, as a team, Cornell struggled offensively in the second half, making only 33.3 percent of its shots.

Penn was unable to carry the momentum from its shocking win into its Saturday night game against Columbia (9-13, 3-5 Ivy), and the Lions took the game 66-62.

Sophomore center Mike Howlett led the Quakers with 14 points, while senior guard Niko Scott led the Light Blue with a career-high 29 points.

Penn lost again last night against Princeton, falling to the Tigers 58-51.

After being embarrassed by Penn, Cornell had to travel to New Jersey to take on arguably its most difficult league opponent—Princeton (14-6, 5-1 Ivy). The night before their showdown with the Big Red, the Tigers defeated the Lions 55-45 thanks to an impressive second half.

Everything seemed to be in Princeton’s favor when the top two Ivy squads faced off, but Cornell would not lose two nights in a row. The Big Red managed to hold on to its 24-21 halftime lead, eventually winning 48-45.

The Tigers’ sophomore guard Douglas Davis put up a game-high 20 points but missed a tough 3-pointer in the final second of play that would have tied the score.

Wittman and senior center Jeff Foote led the Big Red with a combined 24 points and 10 boards.

Penn and Princeton will both host Yale and Brown this weekend.

There were almost two upsets on Friday night as Yale (10-15, 4-4 Ivy) took Harvard (17-5, 6-2 Ivy) to overtime. The Crimson ultimately triumphed, defeating the Bulldogs 82-79, even after trailing by nine at the half.

Though the Crimson made the first shot—a layup by senior forward Doug Miller—the Elis led for most of the first half, using a 17-5 run to build their nine-point halftime lead. Harvard fought back, though, outscoring Yale 41-32 in the second half to force extra minutes. The Crimson made 11 of its 12 free throws in overtime, sealing its three-point victory.

Yale’s senior guard Alex Zampier led all scorers with 32 points. Harvard freshman forward Kyle Casey led his team in both points (20) and rebounds (7), earning Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Week honors.

Harvard was able to win at Brown (8-17, 2-6 Ivy) the next night, completing its first Ivy weekend sweep of the season. The Crimson defeated the Bears by a large margin—81-67. However, Brown kept it close in the first half, allowing Harvard to take only a three-point lead into the locker room.

The Crimson would break open the game in the second half, though, outscoring the Bears by 14.

Casey again led Harvard, this time with 27 points, tying his career high. Casey also had a team-best 9 boards. Brown junior forward Peter Sullivan led his team with 21 points and six boards.

The night before it lost to Harvard, Brown easily defeated Dartmouth (4-18, 0-8 Ivy) 75-60. The Big Green actually out-shot the Bears, making 40 percent of its shots compared to Brown’s 38.6 percent accuracy, but Dartmouth still came up winless.

Sullivan led Brown again in both scoring and rebounds, posting a double-double with 23 points and 11 boards. Freshman center Matt LaBove led the Big Green with 12 points and was the only Dartmouth player to score in double figures.

The Big Green was unable to pick up its first Ivy win the next night either, falling to the Bulldogs 69-56. Sophomore forward Michael Sands led Yale with 20 points, while two Dartmouth players—David Rufful and Ronnie Dixon—each had 15.

Dartmouth and Harvard will return home to host Columbia and Cornell this weekend.