Box Score
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Senior Ryan Wittman entered his big shot among the all-time list of big shots at the Mecca of College Basketball, hitting a 28-foot jumper at the buzzer to propel Cornell to the finals of the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival with a 91-88 overtime win over Davidson on Sunday afternoon. The win improved the Big Red to 8-2, while the Wildcats slipped to 3-8.
Wittman had 29 points and connected on seven 3-pointers, but it was his long trey launched with a second to play that launched the team into a massive celebration on the court. That came after classmate Louis Dale snaked into the lane for a layup with 0.7 seconds left to send the game into an extra session, giving Wittman a chance for his heroics.
"I don't know if I have ever been around a kid that is as great a shooter and wants that moment," said Cornell head coach Steve Donahue. I think he has terrific confidence. More than that, I think he realizes that is his role on the team. When he has the ball, in situations where he has to make plays, we call his number, and to be honest with you, I knew when he released it that it was in."
Wittman added three rebounds and two assists in the victory, while senior Jeff Foote had a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double. Chris Wroblewski added 14 points and Dale had nine points, including seven in overtime after making the game-tying layup at the end of regulation. He added seven assists and five rebounds. Freshman Errick Peck had eight points and Alex Tyler had five points, four rebounds and two blocks in his first appearance since early December.
Jake Cohen scored 18 points to lead four double figure scorers for Davidson, while both Brendan McKillop and JP Kuhlman notched 17 points each. Ben Allison had 10 points, while Steve Rossiter posted seven points and 11 rebounds. The Wildcats shot 61 percent from the floor in the second half and overtime, including hitting a blistering 7-of-10 from beyond the arc to overcome a 16-point deficit.
"Obviously, I thought that was an excellent game to be a part of and watch. Both teams really play the right way and execute well," Donahue said. "Both teams got 21 assists, 11 turnovers, making big play after big play. My initial reaction, and I can't help myself, is to feel bad for the opponent because I thought they did everything they could to win the game. Obviously, I am extremely proud of our guys and the way they played to persever and get the win.
In a game played at the level of many of the great college basketball games in the storied history of Madison Square Garden, neither team led by more than four points in the final nine minutes of regulation and all of overtime, with seven ties and 12 lead changes making it one of the back-and-forth, thrilling contests in Cornell history. In the end, the Ivy League's Player of the Year in 2007-08 and the conference's all-time leading 3-point king made the shots to give the team a chance to compete for the historic title on Monday evening.
Wittman's 29 points moved him into the top 20 all-time in Ivy League scoring, pushing him to 1,623 points, good for 16th all-time. He added to his perch on the school and conference's career 3-point list with his seven, making him the first player in Ancient Eight history to surpass 300 career treys (301). Dale, meanwhile, moved within two assists of Cornell's career record with his seven dimes.
The Big Red used a suffocating defensive effort over the first 10 minutes and a hot-shooting spree to take a 44-31 lead into the break. Cornell shot 59
percent overall and hit on 6-of-10 3-pointers, whil holding Davidson to 38 percent shooting. Only a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Davidson's Brendan McKillop
was able to stem the Big Red run. Cornell scored the first basket, and after being tied twice early, never trailed in the first 20 minutes. Foote and Wittman
led the way with 10 points each, with Foote adding five rebounds. Peck scored eight off the bench and Dale had five assists.
Cornell's fast start was matched by the Wildcats finish in regulation. Davidson got big shot after big shot from its freshmen, Cohen and Kuhlman, and a gutty effort from senior McKillop, the son of head coach Bob McKillop. He hit several tough 3-pointers, including two at the end of the shot clock, to give him team a big lift.
The Wildcats caught the Big Red with 8:37 to play when Dan Nelms finished on a beautiful feed from McKillop. Both teams were able to get defensive stops before a scoop shot in the lane by Davidson's Nik Cochran gave the scoreboard visitors their first lead of the game, a 63-61 edge with 6:23 left. Wroblewski answered on the other end with an and-1, but after his free throw Cochran again got into the lane to hit a difficult shot off glass to push it to 65-64 Davidson.
Wroblewski nailed two free throws for yet another lead change, starting a string of six straight possessions where the lead changed. Davidson's Kuhlman nailed a 3-pointer with 1:02 left, then after a Big Red miss, Cohen hit 1-of-2 free throws to go up 75-73 with 12 seconds left. He missed the second, but Foote's outlet pass sailed out of bounds with eight ticks left. The Big Red was left to foul and hope for the best, and Cohen missed both shots in the double bonus with six seconds left. The ball was rebounded by Foote, who found Dale. He went the length of the court, nearly lost the ball with the dribble, recovered, beat two defenders into the lane, double clutched around a waiting shot blocker and bounced the layup off glass with 0.7 left on the clock to knot it at 75-75. The Wildcats desperation shot was wild, and the two teams lined up for overtime.
Cornell opened the extra period with a Dale 3-pointer, followed by a Dale jumper in the lane. Each time, Davidson answered with a score. A 3-pointer by Wroblewski momentarily pushed the lead back to four on a feed from Wittman with 2:19 left. After McKillop answered with a trey, Wittman hit a long pull-up to extend it to 86-82. Not close to done, McKillop drove the lane and scored to make it a two-point game with 1:04 left.
Misses by both teams started the procession of fouling, with Dale hitting two shots in the double bonus to go up 88-84 with 28 seconds left in OT. After Kuhlman hit a big 3-pointer to cut the deficit back to one, Dale went right back to the free-throw line. The 84 percent free-throw shooter missed both shots with 15 ticks left and Davidson rebounded. The visitors worked the ball around the perimeter, but a poke-check by Dale knocked the ball out of Kuhlman's hands. Dale was whistled for a foul on the scramble for the loose ball with under six seconds left. Kuhlman made the first to knot the game at 88-88, but missed the second. Foote rebounded the miss and quickly hot-potatoed it to Jon Jaques. Jaques looked ahead and hit Wittman, who took three quick dribbled and launched the bomb that found nothing but net. The team mobbed the senior as the Madison Square Garden spotlights shone on him.
Cornell will face the winner of the St. John's/Hofstra game on Monday, Dec. 21, at 9 p.m. The game will be televised by the Madison Square Garden network.
Ithaca Journal
December 20, 2009
NEW YORK -- Ryan Wittman made his first appearance at Madison Square Garden an unforgettable one.
Leaping on the left-side edge of the "K" on the Knicks' mid-court logo, Wittman drained a 30-foot 3-pointer to beat the overtime buzzer and help Cornell downed Davidson, 91-88, in a men's basketball game Sunday.
"I don't know if I've ever been around a kid that is as great a shooter and wants that moment," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "I think he has terrific confidence. ... To be honest with you, I knew when he released it that it was in."
Cornell (8-2), winners of six straight, will face St. John's (9-1) around 9 tonight for the MSG Holiday Festival championship.
St. John's defeated Hofstra, 72-60.
Wittman and senior point guard Louis Dale, who have authored some of the biggest victories in Cornell history, left indelible finger prints on this one.
Dale, who looked out of synch for long stretches, scored his first points on a driving baseline layup with 0:00.7 left in regulation to tie the game and force overtime.
Two free throws from Dale, who scored seven points in overtime, gave the Big Red an 88-84 lead with 28 seconds left. Davidson freshman J.P. Kuhlman drilled a 3 from the top of the key with 16 seconds on the clock to draw within 88-87, and the Wildcats immediately fouled Dale.
The 5-11 senior missed both free throws, then was whistled for a questionable foul on Kuhlman with 6.6 seconds left. Kuhlman tied the game with his first free throw, but missed the second. Jeff Foote, a Spencer-Van Etten graduate, rebounded and passed to Jon Jaques, who quickly fed Wittman. Taking possession on the left side, he dribbled three times toward the middle of the court and let fly. The buzzer sounded when the shot was in the air. Cornell's bench rushed Wittman on the court.
Wittman, a 6-foot-7 senior, finished with a season-high 29 points on 11 of 23 shooting to raise his scoring average to 19.1.
It was Cornell's first game since a Dec. 6 victory over Saint Joseph's.
"You hate to say it, but we're fortunate that they missed some key foul shots and we overcame some really hard, difficult calls by the officials," Donahue said. "I won't say they were bad. But it was great to see us overcome a lot of adversity when we weren't necessarily playing our 'A' game."Unlike close wins against Alabama, Drexel and Bucknell, when Cornell weathered comeback attempts to hold on, Davidson had this game all but wrapped up in the final minute of regulation -- despite trailing by as many as 16 and 44-31 at halftime. Davidson shot 61 percent after halftime, hitting seven of 10 from beyond the arc.
Freshman forward Jake Cohen, who led the Wildcats (3-8) with 18 points, missed three of four free throws in the final minute of regulation. After his second miss, with 12 seconds left, Foote rebounded and threw the ball out of bounds. Cohen was fouled with 7.6 left but missed two more.
Dale took possession and went the length of the court on the left side. He turned inside of Brendan McKillop at the baseline and scored off the glass, over the 6-10 Cohen, to tie it at 75.
Foote finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Chris Wroblewski scored 14 points. Dale finished with seven assists, and needs two tonight to break the school's all-time assists record.
In his return from a calf injury that cost him four games, senior Alex Tyler scored five points, blocked two shots and grabbed four rebounds in 15 minutes.
Davidson was led by freshman forward Jake Cohen, who scored 18 points. Kuhlman and point guard Brendan McKillop scored 17 apiece.
Donahue called it "a great win."
"Davidson is a very good basketball team," Donahue said. "I think we're fortunate to catch them when their young guys are still growing. They are an excellent offensive team. I would not be surprised if they win their league. ... you don't realize it until you play them. This is a great win."
St. John's will be Cornell's third Big East opponent this season. Cornell lost to Seton Hall, 89-79, and nationally ranked Syracuse, 88-73.
Men's Basketball Defeats Davidson, 91-88, in Overtime Thriller on Wittman Buzzer-Beater
Alex Kuczynski-BrownCornell Daily Sun
December 20, 2009
NEW YORK, N.Y. –– Ryan Wittman made certain that his first visit to Madison Square Garden was one to remember. The senior forward hit a 28-foot buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime to propel Cornell to a thrilling 91-88 win over Davidson (3-8), and secure the Red (8-2) a berth in the championship game of the MSG Holiday Festival, to be played Monday at 9 p.m. against St. John’s.
“I didn’t really think about how big it was. When I caught the ball I kind of looked at the clock to see how much time I had left. I had a couple dribbles, and then just ... shot it,” Wittman said.
He was promptly mobbed by his teammates on-court after the fact.
Wittman finished the day with 29 points –– four shy of his career-high –– but his late-game heroics would have proved a non-story had it not been for senior guard Louis Dale’s clutch layup with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation. Dale, who dished out seven assists, had been held scoreless up until this point and carried his hot shooting into the overtime period, contributing seven additional points. Senior center Jeff Foote picked up his fourth double-double of the season, notching 16 points and 14 boards.
Sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski got things started for the Red with his first of three treys on the day, though both teams were evenly matched in the opening minutes –– that is until senior guard Geoff Reeves drilled a jumper to hand Cornell a lead it would not relinquish until 8:53 in the second half.
Three consecutive field goals from freshman forward Errick Peck off the bench pushed the team’s advantage to eight, and senior tri-captain/forward Jon Jaques and Wittman did their part to maintain the constant pressure with a pair of 3’s, putting Cornell up 23-9.
With 9:18 to play, senior tri-captain/forward Alex Tyler, who has been nursing a calf injury that kept him out of the previous four games, blocked a shot by freshman guard JP Kuhlman and collided with a couple courtside chairs in a successful attempt to keep the ball in play.
The Red’s lead swelled to as much as 17 on Reeves’ only 3 of the game, and Wittman followed suit with his second of seven shots from downtown. However, a trey from junior guard Brendan McKillop –– son of Davidson head coach Bob McKillop –– with time expiring would close the gap, sending both teams into the locker room with Cornell on top, 44-31.
The Red shot 58.6 percent in the first 20 minutes, and was a blistering 6-for-10 from beyond the arc, while holding the Wildcats to just 37.5 percent shooting and 3-for-12 from 3-point range.
The second half, however, proved a different game for both teams. Davidson managed to reverse its subpar numbers from the opening frame, shooting 58.1 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from downtown in the second. Cornell, on the other hand, was held to 31.4 percent overall, and connected on only 3-of-13 from outside.
“Davidson is a very good offensive basketball team. They got in a really good rhythm,” said head coach Steve Donahue. “[Us having had] two weeks off hit us in the second half ... guys started getting tired physically and mentally.”
Wittman echoed this sentiment, “In the first half we had a lot of good defensive energy. We jumped out to a big lead right away. When they started making a run at us in the second half, I think some of the rust showed from not playing for two weeks. We started not getting the stops on defense.”
Indeed, fatigue began to take its toll on some of the Red players in the half, as evidenced by Cornell missing several open shots. Meanwhile, the Davidson offense started to find its groove, as back-to-back 3’s from McKillop and Kuhlman –– who both finished second on the team with 17 points apiece –– cut the Wildcats’ deficit to six. Wittman silenced this mini-run with a trey of his own to put Cornell up, 55-46, and contributed another one less than three minutes later.
It would continue to rain 3’s at The Garden, as a steal by senior forward Steve Rossiter led to a fastbreak trey from McKillop, and then another as freshman forward Nik Cochran again got the ball into McKillop’s hands following a Wroblewski miss. Not to be outdone, Wittman drilled his second 3 in the span of two minutes on a Dale assist to make it 61-55 in favor of the Red. The advantage proved short-lived, however, as Davidson managed to pull even at 8:53 when senior forward Dan Nelms finished on a feed from McKillop. Two and a half minutes later, Cochran gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 63-61. Wroblewski –– one of three Red players to finish in double-figures with 14 points –– was fouled and converted on the 3-point play, but Cochran responded to put his team back on top.
“Davidson was hungry; they really executed on the offensive end and really had us back on our heels,” Donahue said.
Wroblewski sunk two more free throws, initiating a string of six straight possessions that featured lead changes. With just over a minute remaining, Kuhlman drained a 3, and a questionable foul on Alex Tyler sent freshman forward Jake Cohen to the line to shoot 1-and-1. He converted the first but missed the second as Foote came up with the rebound, but his outlet pass sailed out of bounds with eight seconds to play.
Cornell was left with no choice but to intentionally foul, and the Red’s gamble paid off as Cohen, who led Davidson with 18 points, missed both shots in the double bonus. Foote once again secured the rebound and found Dale, who went the length of the court, and bounced a layup off the glass with no time left on the clock to knot the score at 75 and pave the way for an equally-tense overtime period.
“We told ourselves before we went out there that we need[ed] to play good defense if we [were] going to win [the] overtime period,” Wittman said. “We’ve been through a lot of situations like this before, like at Bucknell, so we had a lot of confidence in our team coming into overtime.”
The momentum from Dale’s shot transitioned to OT, as he drilled a 3-pointer 30 seconds in and drained a jumper a minute and a half later. Rossiter countered with a layup off an offensive rebound by senior guard Bryant Barr in what would prove a recurring trend in the five-minute period, as Davidson responded to every Cornell score.
“[The overtime period] was another opportunity for us to surrender to adversity,” coach McKillop said. His team did exactly the opposite.
A Wroblewski 3-pointer put the Red ahead, 83-79, but the younger McKillop reciprocated in kind. However, Wittman came through with his 300th career trey, becoming the first player in Ivy League history to reach this landmark. The situation left no time for celebration, however, as McKillop once again cut the deficit to two with 1:04 to play.
Finding themselves in a similar position to the Red late in the second half, the Wildcats intentionally fouled Dale, who connected on both free throw attempts to put his team up, 88-84, with only 28 seconds to play. The lead was by no means safe, as it was Kuhlman’s turn to be clutch, drilling a 3 to make it a one-point game.
Another intentional foul sent Dale back to the line, and in a highly uncharacteristic display, the 84 percent free-throw shooter missed both shots with 15 left on the clock. Kuhlman came up with the rebound, only to have the ball knocked out of his hands by Dale; in the ensuing scramble for the loose ball, Dale was called for a foul, sending Kuhlman to the charity stripe with the game on the line. He made the first to knot things at 88, but missed the second, and Foote was able to grab the rebound and find Jaques with no time to spare. Jaques connected with Wittman, whose SportsCenter-worthy buzzer-beater handed Cornell a 91-88 win for the ages on the world’s biggest stage.
The Red returns to the Madison Square Garden court Monday evening for a rendezvous with the 9-1 St. John’s Red Storm, which downed Hofstra (7-4), 72-60, on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s like an Ivy League weekend,” Donahue said. “One thing I like about this tournament is you don’t get a chance to really celebrate.”
NEW YORK - Ryan Wittman hit a 35-foot 3-pointer as the horn sounded to lift Cornell to a 91-88 men's basketball overtime victory over Davidson in the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon.
With the game tied 88-88 and six seconds left in the extra period, the Big Red got a rebound off a JP Kuhlman free throw miss and got it up to Wittman who pulled up a few feet past halfcourt and swished home the 3-pointer as time ran off the clock.
It was the seventh trey for Wittman, who scored a game-high 29 points. Jake Cohen led the Wildcats (3-8) with 18 points, while Brendan McKillop and Kuhlman each scored 17. Ben Allison added 10 points off the bench, and Steve Rossiter collected 11 rebounds and seven points. McKillop added six assists, and Kuhlman tallied five.
Jeff Foote recorded 16 points and 14 boards for Cornell (8-2), and Chris Wroblewski scored 14.
With Cornell trailing 75-73 and six seconds left in regulation, Louis Dale took an outlet pass and drove the length of the court for a layup with a tick left on the clock to send the game into overtime. It was his first bucket of the game, and he finished with nine points and seven helpers.
It was a back-and-forth affair as the final 10 minutes of regulation and five-minute overtime period saw 10 ties and 11 lead changes. In the end, the Big Red took advantage of their free throw opportunities, hitting 12-of-15, while the Wildcats made 8-of-15.
Davidson erased a 13-point halftime deficit and took its first lead of the game on Nik Cochran’s driving layup that made the score 63-61 with 6:23 to play. The teams traded leads from there, and Kuhlman hit a 3-pointer to give the ‘Cats a 74-73 cushion with 1:02 remaining.
Davidson got a defensive stop on Cornell’s position, and after a timeout, Cohen got the rebound off of a Kuhlman miss and was fouled with 12 seconds left. The freshman made the first and missed the second, but Cornell threw the outlet pass out of bounds off the rebound, giving the ball to Davidson.
Cohen was fouled after the inbounds pass and missed both free throws. Foote rebounded the second miss and threw the outlet pass to Dale, who went the length of the court for the game-tying layup with 0.7 left. McKillop’s 80-foot desperation 3-point attempt was off the mark, and the game went into overtime.
Dale scored the first five points in the extra session, and a Wittman trey gave Cornell an 86-82 lead with 1:25 left on the clock. McKillop drove in for a layup with 28 seconds to go, and the ‘Cats were forced to foul Dale, who made both free throws.
A Kuhlman 3-pointer from the wing trimmed the lead to 86-85, and the ‘Cats fouled Dale again. He missed them both this time and was whistled for a foul as Kuhlman drove to the hoop on Davidson’s offensive possession with six seconds left. The freshman made the first one and missed the second, and the rebound went to Foote who found Wittman for the buzzer-beater.
Davidson will face the loser of the nightcap between St. John’s and Hofstra Monday at 7 p.m. in The Garden.
Game Notes: Davidson shot 50 percent against the Big Red; it’s their third straight game shooting 50 percent or better from the field… It was the ‘Cats’ first overtime game since an 85-81 double-overtime loss at Charlotte Nov. 30, 2005… It was the first meeting between Davidson and Cornell… This is the ‘Cats’ second in-season tournament this season… The Wildcat bench has outscored its opponent in every game this season.
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