Princeton survives to advance to Ivy League Championship Game

Basketball, College, Princeton University

March 13, 2022

The Princeton Tigers men's basketball team defeated Cornell, 77-73, in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Princeton entered the tournament as the top seed and regular-season champions. On the flip side, the Big Red's coming in as the fourth seed and making their second Ivy League Tournament appearance in program history.

The teams split the season series during the regular season, with Princeton emerging victorious at home 72-70 in January while Cornell got redemption on February 8th on their homecourt 88-83.

The Tigers were off and running early in the first half, jumping out to an 8-0 advantage. Princeton fired on all cylinders from behind the arc, canning four trifectas as the lead swelled to 14-2 at the 17-minute mark.

Cornell (15-11) managed to trim the deficit down to single digits at 23-16 with less than 12 minutes remaining. However, the Tigers' tandem of Jaelin Llewellyn (17points) and Ethan Wright (10 points) proved unstoppable. They accounted for 27 points in the half as Princeton widened the margin to 37-22 with seven minutes left.

The Tigers (23-5) encountered a three-and-a-half-minute scoring drought, enabling Cornell to go on a 9-0 spurt. Despite the cold stretch, Princeton led 40-35 at halftime.

Cornell opened the second half with a flurry going on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game at the 17 and half minute mark. The Tigers surged back with an 8-2 run to reclaim the advantage.

Cornell ignited a rebuttal to tie the game up at 55-55 on a triple from Keller Boothby with less than 11 minutes left. The back-and-forth action continued as the teams traded, making shots and taking the lead.

Limited to five points in the first half, Princeton forward Tosan Evbuomwan erupted, tallying 16 points and becoming the offensive weapon down the stretch for the Tigers. Princeton trailed 69-66 with three and half minutes to go when Evbuomwan drove to the rim for a lay-in.

Jaelin Llewellyn put the Tigers up 71-69, splashing a trey with less than three minutes left. Cornell answered back on a jump shot from Kobe Dickson to tie the game up. Tosan Evbuomwan connected on a jumper off the glass, but Kobe Dickson drove into the paint for a left-handed shot, tying the contest up at 73-73.

With time winding down, Tosan Evbuomwan proved to be the hero for Princeton backing his way into the paint and rising for a spectacular one-handed shot off the glass with 36 seconds remaining.

The Big Red's had their fair share of opportunities to tie the game up, but the ball would not bounce into the basket. Ryan Langborg sealed the 77-73 victory for the Tigers, draining a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds.

Jaelin Llewellyn poured in a game-high 23 points, while Tosan Evbuomwan finished with 21 points and Ethan Wright added 12 points. Princeton shot 51 percent from the field and sank 11 three-pointers. For Cornell, Dean Noll and Sarju each tallied 13 points apiece.