Men's Cagers Set to Host Quakers,Tigers

It's a do-or-die weekend for the men's basketball team. With only four games remaining in the regular season, the Red (11-12, 6-4 Ivy) needs to run the table to have a shot at the Ivy title, and it will get a chance to make up some ground on league-leading Penn (15-8, 8-1 Ivy) when the two teams meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena. Tomorrow, Princeton (12-11, 3-6 Ivy) comes to town for a 7 p.m. contest that will be televised on the YES Network. This weekend's games come just two weeks after Cornell played at Princeton and Penn. Also tomorrow, seniors Eric Taylor, Cody Toppert, and Chris Vandenberg will be honored as part of senior night. 

"Princeton's only played three games since we played them, and Penn's only played two games," said head coach Steve Donahue. "It's different because we know each other. Even in those two weeks for us, we've changed dramatically, just with injuries and guys playing."

After splitting last weekend's games against Dartmouth and Harvard, the Red needs four wins plus three Penn losses to clinch at least a share of the league title. If the two teams finished tied for first, they will then play each other in a one-game playoff at a neutral sit e. However, the last time Cornell beat Penn twice in one season was in 1989.

Against Dartmouth last Friday, the Red fell behind early and could not recover, losing 67-54. With sophomore point guard Graham Dow hampered by injury, freshman Jason Canady stepped up with a career and team-high 20 points against the Green, including 16 in the final nine minutes. Starting the following night, Canady put up 15 more points in the Red's 67-63 win at Harvard, and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for his efforts. Junior Ryan Rourke also had a big night against the Crimson, posting a career-high 27 points.

This weekend presents a formidable challenge for the Red, as the team has not swept Princeton and Penn at home since its Ivy title season in 1988. Two weeks ago, Cornell won its first game at Princeton since 1985, beating the Tigers 66-58. The next night at the Palestra, the Red had a chance to become only the fourth team ever in league history to sweep the Tigers and Quakers on the road, but dropped a 64-50 contest. Serving as an assistant coach at Penn for 10 years, Donahue is still winless against his mentor and Penn head coach Fran Dunphy. 

"We have to do the things we do well to win games, and for me, that's doing a real good job on the defensive boards, taking care of transition defense, and taking care of the ball, " Donahue said. "When we take care of the ball and our turnovers are in the 10-12 range, we usually are a very good basketball team, and that's what we need to do this weekend."

While Penn looked like it was ready to run away with the league title last weekend, Yale stunned the previously-undefeated Quakers with a 78-60 win in New Haven, CT. The Bulldogs built on a five-point lead at halftime, and limited Penn to 28.1 percent shooting in the second half. 

"It's a revenge game for a team that I know physically is able to match up with Penn. [Yale's win] doesn't surprise me," Donahue said. "[Penn's] a team that I think really understands how to win games, gets the maximum amount out of each guy -- one of those teams. But on any given night, anybody in this league can beat anybody. When Yale's at home and Penn has to go there after really beating [the Bulldogs] easily at the Palestra, that was a good opportunity for Yale to jump them."

Penn is led by senior guard Tim Begley, who has compiled a team-leading 14.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Sophomore guard Ibrahim Jaaber has upped his scoring average by almost five points per game from a year ago, and is second on the team in scoring with 11.0 points per game.

"Obviously, we can really look at our film and what we did well and what we didn't do well and try to correct it," Donahue said. "We're trying to execute and maybe come up with a wrinkle here and there to make us more successful than [when] we were down there."

Since its loss to Cornell two weeks ago, the Tigers have gone 2-1, most recently beating up on Brown 69-52 last Saturday. The reigning league champion, Princeton, is currently sixth in the conference standings. Senior center Judson Wallace is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, with 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while senior guard Will Venable is second in scoring with 10.5 points per game.

Men's Basketball Battles Princeton, Penn

Last year, the men's basketball team had a 5-1 league record heading into the Penn-Princeton weekend at Newman Arena, with a chance to grab first place in the conference standings. This year, first place is also in reach, and the Red (9-10, 4-2 Ivy) can take a big step towards the top of the conference when it travels to face Princeton (10-8, 1-3 Ivy) and Penn (12-7, 5-0 Ivy) tonight and tomorrow.

With Penn rallying to defeat Princeton earlier this week, Cornell, which currently sits alone in second place, will need some help from its travel partner to get to first place this weekend.

"I think fans and other people look at the bigger picture more than the player and the coaches," said head coach Steve Donahue. "Our job is to go down there [tonight] right now and win, and figure out the best way to beat a good basketball team. That's our job and obviously we haven't had great success down there because they're good."

After starting the conference slate with a 2-2 record, the Red posted two big home wins last weekend. On Friday night, Brown's Jason Forte, the 2004 Ivy League Player of the Year, set a Newman Arena record with 36 points, but it was senior Cody Toppert's two free throws with 3.5 seconds in regulation that made the difference, as the Red topped the Bears, 76-75.

Saturday's game was equally exciting, as the Red needed double-overtime to dispatch Yale. Down by five with 1:15 remaining in the first overtime, the Red rallied back and junior Lenny Collins tied the game with a three with only 13 seconds remaining in the first extra session. The Red hit its free throws in the last minute of the second overtime and came away with the 87-82 win. Collins, who racked up 20 and 21 points against Brown and Yale, respectively, was named Co-Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday.

Penn and Princeton have been dominating the Ivy League for the past 16 years, with no other team earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1988, when Cornell won the Ivy title outright. After compiling a 13-1 league record last year and the Ivy title, Princeton's coach, John Thompson III, accepted the head coaching job at Georgetown.

The Tigers replaced Thompson with one of their own, Joe Scott, who previously was the head coach at Air Force. Scott's squad was given the nod as the preseason Ivy favorite, but has a posted a disappointing 1-4 start in the conference. The Tigers' fourth loss came at the hands of the Quakers, who overcame an 18-point deficit to force overtime at the Palestra. After not allowing Princeton a field goal in the final 8:33 of regulation, Penn pulled ahead in the overtime for the 70-62 win.

"It was a wild game. As crazy a game as I've seen next to the one that I was involved with in 2000, where we had that 27-point lead evaporate," Donahue said. "So, I can feel for Princeton in this case. Those things happen. It's hard to imagine them happening, but it happens. I'm sure the kids will bounce back quicker than the coaches."

The Tigers return four starters from last year's squad, including senior center Judson Wallace, who leads the team in scoring with 14.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and senior guard Will Venable, the team's second leading scorer with 10.5 points per game.

"I think there's obviously always an adjustment period with a new coach and even though they say it's the same system, coach Scott is different than John Thompson was," Donahue said. "Our league is better than it's been. We're balanced. Each team has three or four very good players. I think that has more to do with it than Princeton not playing well."

The Quakers currently hold the top spot in the conference with a 5-0 record. Along with its win against Princeton, Penn's other notable win this season came against Philadelphia Big Five opponent, St. Joseph's. Senior guard Tim Begley leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

This weekend marks the Red's first away games in almost a month. After entertaining Ivy foes at home for three straight weeks, Cornell heads out on the road for a crucial two-week stretch starting tonight.

"I think over the last two years, we've been a good road team," Donahue said. "We had a winning record on the road last year. I think our guys now look forward to the road. I wouldn't want to play two more home games; it's almost gets monotonous. Now you need the change and the challenge. We put ourselves in a chance to compete for this, so now we have to go play our best basketball on the road."

Men's Basketball Defeats Brown, Yale at Home

Three years ago against Brown, then-freshman Cody Toppert had a chance to tie the Bears in the waning seconds of the game. Unfortunately for the Red, his three-pointer was off, and Brown escaped Newman Arena with a win. Last year against Brown, Toppert's three also missed the mark in the last few seconds. This past Friday night, Toppert again found himself in a similar situation -- the ball in his hands, and a chance to tie Brown. Except this time, he was at the foul line. 

A career 85 percent free-throw shooter, Toppert nailed two shots from the charity stripe with 3.5 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Red (8-10, 3-2 Ivy) a 76-75 victory over Brown (8-9, 1-2 Ivy). 

"Every game is so important in this league because there's no league tournament," said Cornell head coach Steve Donahue. "To stay in it, you have to win, especially at home. I thought we played a spirited game."

Coming off a split at home last weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth, the Red needed a strong showing against Brown to keep pace in the Ivy standings. The Bears presented a formidable challenge, as they featured the league's leading scorer and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, Jason Forte. Last weekend, Brown knocked off 2004 Ivy champion Princeton on the road, behind a 17-point effort from Forte. 

On Friday, things started out slow for Cornell, as the Red shot 2-for-13 in the first nine minutes of the game. With 8:05 to play in the half, the Red was staring at a 12-point deficit, as Brown led 20-8.

"In the first six to eight minutes, we were tentative on offense," said junior Lenny Collins. "Coach got into us during a timeout, and we started getting the ball to the basket. Our intensity began on the defensive end, and spilled over to the offense."

The Red offense came to life, as it rattled off a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 21-20 lead. Sophomore Graham Dow, who returned to the game after taking a shot to the face, sparked the Red during the run by scoring on consecutive layups off of picks from the top of the key. 

"The steady play of Graham Dow is why we're a different team this year," Donahue said. "The whole team is feeding off him. He can defensively control a game, and he makes us a better team."

The teams went into the locker room knotted at 27, after Toppert tied the game with a three-pointer with 22 seconds left in the first half. Brown grabbed an early lead after the break, but the Red answered by holding on to a lead for nearly 10 minutes. Forte, who netted eights points in the first half, exploded for 28 second-half points, setting a Newman Arena record with 36 on the evening. He made a huge impact at the free-throw line, connecting on 11 of 13 shots from the line in the second half.

"Forte is a great player. We've been going at it ever since we entered the league," said Toppert. "He did a great job getting to the foul line. It was back and forth during the second half, and it was important for us to answer him."

Toppert nailed a three with 1:44 remaining to give the Red a 74-71 edge, but Brown responded with two layups to grab a one-point lead with 11 seconds remaining. On the ensuing in-bounds, Toppert received a full-court pass on the left side, and drove in for the layup, but missed. Sophomore Andrew Naeve grabbed the rebound and put up another layup, but he couldn't connect either. Naeve then grabbed the rebound from his own shot, and kicked it out to Toppert, who was fouled. After Toppert made his free throws, Brown had one last chance with 3.5 seconds left, drawing up a play that put the ball in Forte's hands at half-court. He dribbled up the right side, but Collins and Dow defended him well, causing Forte to slip and lose possession as time ran out.

"I was thinking toward the end that the team with the ball last may win the game," Donahue said. "We did a good job not fouling at the end. It's nerve-racking as a coach to watch."

Toppert finished the game with a team-high 22 points, 19 of those coming in the second half. Collins had a solid night as well, chipping in 20, while senior captain Eric Taylor put up 10 points. Forte was the only Brown player in double-figures on the evening.

M. Cagers Ready for Rematch With Lions

With students filing back into Ithaca for the start of the spring semester this weekend, the men's basketball team opens its home Ivy season with a rematch against its travel partner, Columbia (10-4, 1-0 Ivy) tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Newman Arena. The Red (5-9, 0-1 Ivy) dropped its first conference game to the Lions 70-61 last Saturday, and compiled a 4-5 record since the end of fall classes. While the Red has had a week to prepare for this game, head coach Steve Donahue does not anticipate any major changes to the game plan from last week.

"I think we learned a few things about what [Columbia does] and how to make adjustments," Donahue said. "In all honesty, in these games, people think you can make a drastic change in what you do, and they'll be some little things that we're going to try to do on each individual guy who hurt us."

One of those players who especially hurt the Red last week was Jeremiah Boswell, who netted 14 points and was one of three Lions in double figures. After a back-and-forth first half, the Red scored six straight points in the final two minutes of the half to grab a 36-34 lead at the break. After Cornell increased its lead to five at one minute into the second, Columbia answered with an 11-1 run, grabbing a lead it would not relinquish. The Lions were hot from beyond the arc, shooting 10-of-13 from three-point range. Senior captain Eric Taylor led the Red with 15 points, while the team combined for a season-high 13 steals.

Columbia's second-year coach, Joe Jones, is continuing the team's turnaround this season, after the Lions rebounded from an 0-14 conference showing in 2003 with a 6-8 record last season. The Lions have already equalled their win total from last season, earning their tenth victory over Navy on Tuesday.

"[Joe]'s doing a great job, and I say this, and I think Joe would agree, [former Columbia coach] Armond [Hill] always did a good job when he was there. They made a run at it, and they had a bad year when those kids were [freshmen and sophomores], and he was rebuilding." Donahue said. 

"Unfortunately, in this business, when you rebuild and lose too much, you get fired, but those kids were young when [Hill] had them. Matt Preston, Dragutin Kravic, Dalen Cuff, Jeremiah Boswell, Matt Land, that's the heart and soul of the team. They're Armond Hill's guys and Joe's done a great job integrating his young guys with those guys."

Preston, who netted 23 against Navy, leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, and Boswell is second in scoring with 10.9 points per game. After shooting 54 percent against the Red, the Lions shot only 37.5 percent against Navy, but still came away with a 69-63 win.

"We've got to run a real good offense against them. We've got to defend in the transition, which we did a decent job of, and we obviously have to guard the three-point shooters. They really hurt us," Donahue said.

With the non-conference season behind it, the Red looks to gain momentum with a win tomorrow as it heads into the bulk of its Ivy schedule. Last year, the Red jumped out to a 5-1 start in conference play, before losing seven of its last eight games of the season.

"The matchups in our league are very critical to your success. Obviously, this is a critical game for us, and I'm sure Columbia feels the same way," Donahue said. "We both have four home games after this; that's the way that we do it, a 14-game tournament. Every team in our league can beat any other team."

With students filing back into Ithaca for the start of the spring semester this weekend, the men's basketball team opens its home Ivy season with a rematch against its travel partner, Columbia (10-4, 1-0 Ivy) tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Newman Arena. The Red (5-9, 0-1 Ivy) dropped its first conference game to the Lions 70-61 last Saturday, and compiled a 4-5 record since the end of fall classes. While the Red has had a week to prepare for this game, head coach Steve Donahue does not anticipate any major changes to the game plan from last week.
"I think we learned a few things about what [Columbia does] and how to make adjustments," Donahue said. "In all honesty, in these games, people think you can make a drastic change in what you do, and they'll be some little things that we're going to try to do on each individual guy who hurt us."
One of those players who especially hurt the Red last week was Jeremiah Boswell, who netted 14 points and was one of three Lions in double figures. After a back-and-forth first half, the Red scored six straight points in the final two minutes of the half to grab a 36-34 lead at the break. After Cornell increased its lead to five at one minute into the second, Columbia answered with an 11-1 run, grabbing a lead it would not relinquish. The Lions were hot from beyond the arc, shooting 10-of-13 from three-point range. Senior captain Eric Taylor led the Red with 15 points, while the team combined for a season-high 13 steals.
Columbia's second-year coach, Joe Jones, is continuing the team's turnaround this season, after the Lions rebounded from an 0-14 conference showing in 2003 with a 6-8 record last season. The Lions have already equalled their win total from last season, earning their tenth victory over Navy on Tuesday.
"[Joe]'s doing a great job, and I say this, and I think Joe would agree, [former Columbia coach] Armond [Hill] always did a good job when he was there. They made a run at it, and they had a bad year when those kids were [freshmen and sophomores], and he was rebuilding." Donahue said. "Unfortunately, in this business, when you rebuild and lose too much, you get fired, but those kids were young when [Hill] had them. Matt Preston, Dragutin Kravic, Dalen Cuff, Jeremiah Boswell, Matt Land, that's the heart and soul of the team. They're Armond Hill's guys and Joe's done a great job integrating his young guys with those guys."
Preston, who netted 23 against Navy, leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, and Boswell is second in scoring with 10.9 points per game. After shooting 54 percent against the Red, the Lions shot only 37.5 percent against Navy, but still came away with a 69-63 win.
"We've got to run a real good offense against them. We've got to defend in the transition, which we did a decent job of, and we obviously have to guard the three-point shooters. They really hurt us," Donahue said.
With the non-conference season behind it, the Red looks to gain momentum with a win tomorrow as it heads into the bulk of its Ivy schedule. Last year, the Red jumped out to a 5-1 start in conference play, before losing seven of its last eight games of the season.
"The matchups in our league are very critical to your success. Obviously, this is a critical game for us, and I'm sure Columbia feels the same way," Donahue said. "We both have four home games after this; that's the way that we do it, a 14-game tournament. Every team in our league can beat any other team."
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