By Jon Lesnik

PRINCETON, N.J. – After being upset last Saturday by Brown University, the Princeton Tigers needed to bounce back Friday night against Cornell if they were going to keep their hopes of a NCAA tournament bid alive.

Mission accomplished, but it was not easy.

Each time Princeton appeared to be gaining control of the game in the first half, they could not put Cornell away. Throughout the first half and part of the second, the game between the Tigers and Big Red resembled a track meet, and other times a three-point shooting contest.

It wasn’t until midway through the second half that Princeton got control of both the offensive and defensive ends, outscoring Cornell 23-7 over the final 11 minutes of the contest for an 84-66 win at Jadwin Gym.

The victory improved Princeton’s record to 21-5, 9-1 in the Ivy League—one game behind Harvard in the conference win column with four games left in the season.

And if Princeton is looking to punch a ticket to the Big Dance, then the Tigers will have to win out, including their March 5 matchup at Harvard. Brown did not do Princeton any favors either, as Harvard defeated the Bears 74-68 to stay a half-game ahead of the Tigers in the Ivy League standings at 10-1.

Princeton coach Sydney Johnson was not willing to look past any opponent before next Saturday’s game.

“We have Columbia coming in tomorrow night,” Johnson said. “Every game in the Ivy League is a battle. We’re not looking ahead beyond tomorrow night.”

Senior guard Dan Mavraides echoed Johnson’s comments.

“In my four years here, every game is a battle, and we control our destiny, so you can’t ask for anything more than that,” Mavraides said.

Ian Hummer led four players in double figures for Princeton with 20 points and nine rebounds. Hummer converted on 9-of-11 shots, mostly from inside the paint and on the low-blocks.

But what opened up the inside game for Hummer and Kareem Maddox—who had 13 points and eight rebounds—was the Tigers shooting from the outside. Princeton converted on 10-of-18 shots from behind the arc.

“We played well inside-out tonight,” Hummer said. “Doug and Dan hitting threes spread the defense out, and it allowed the bigger guys like me and Kareem to do what we want. When they collapsed on us, we had guys step up and make the shots fro the wing.”

Mavraides connected on four shots from three-point range and finished with 17 points on the night. His backcourt partner Douglas Davis hit five treys in seven attempts and finished with 15 points.

“It is nice to hit a couple of threes and get into a rhythm,” Mavraides said.

The victory was Princeton’s second over Cornell this season, as the Tigers defeated the Big Red 57-55 on Feb. 12. That victory, however, was the lowest point total for Princeton this season. Johnson believed that Cornell caught Princeton off-guard defensively the last time when they slowed the Tigers’ offense down.

There was no repeat of that Friday night.

“People try to slow us down and break our rhythm,” Johnson said, “We shot poorly the last game. We made some adjustments this time. Tonight we were able to break their press and go. If you are going to give us two-on-one, and three-on-two, we’ll take it.”

The Tigers had jumped out to a 6-0 lead but Cornell took advantage of four straight turnovers by the Tigers to go on a 10-0 run. A three-point shot by Davis broke the string. A free throw and then a driving layup by Hummer helped Princeton retake a 16-15 lead.

After exchanging baskets, Princeton then found the range from the outside, hitting on four consecutive three-point shots, two each by Doug Davis and Dan Mavraides, to key a 16-2 run that would give Princeton its largest lead of the evening at 36-19.

Cornell answered right back with back-to-back threes by Drew Ferry and Johnathan Gray. The Big Red would hit two more 3-point shots by Max Groebe and Chris Wroblewski to close the final three minutes of the half on an 8-3 run. Princeton led 41-37 at the half.

In the second half, after Cornell closed to within two points at 61-59, Princeton put the game out of reach by going on an 8-0 run with a layup from Hummer, a trey from Mavraides and a three-point play from Maddox. That stretched the Tigers’ lead to 69-59 and they never looked back.

Timeouts did not slow Princeton down. The Tigers finished the game on a 15-5 run, and that allowed Johnson to sit down and watch the final three minutes, instead of pacing up and down the sidelines.

Chris Wroblewski and Drew Ferry led Cornell with 16 points each.

Princeton’s 9-1 record in the Ivy League is its best since 2004. The Tigers’ 21-5 record is their best since the 1997-1998 season. They’re 11-0 at home, having won the last 15 games at Jadwin Gym.