Box Score Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Freshman Galal Cancer scored 17 points and classmate Shonn Miller notched 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots as Cornell knocked off defending Ivy League champion Princeton on Friday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 6-9 (1-0 Ivy), while the Tigers slipped to 9-8 (0-1 Ivy).

Playing in their first conference contest, both Cancer and Miller played key roles on both ends of the floor. Cancer added four assists, two steals, two rebounds and a blocked shot, while Miller had an assist, steal and no turnovers while playing solid defense for long stretches against All-Ivy forward Ian Hummer. The Big Red also got a big 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench from sophomore Dwight Tarwater and nine points, eight rebounds and four assists from Chris Wroblewski. Cornell was able to get out of the gates quickly despite an off-night by leading scorer Drew Ferry, who was held scoreless in 29 minutes of action.

The Big Red shot just 39 percent from the floor, but its defense was even more stifling, holding Princeton to 36 percent shooting and 22 percent from beyond the arc. It also held a 42-41 edge on the backboards, just the second time all year the Big Red won the battle of the boards. Perhaps the most important number of the night was six ... the number of turnovers the Big Red committed.

Douglas Davis scored 16 points to lead the Tigers, though it came on 22 shots. Hummer added 14 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and three assists and T.J. Bray had an outstanding night with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with just one turnover in 39 minutes of action. Princeton had nine blocks as a team and limited the home team to 18 percent 3-point shooting (2-of-11).

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, featuring an astounding 18 lead changes and four ties before the Tigers came out of the firest 20 minutes leading 29-28. Miller had seven points and three rebounds for the Big Red, which connected on just 31 percent of its efforts from the floor.

Neither team led by more than four, with Princeton taking the biggest lead of the contest at 19-15 with seven minutes to play in the first half. After trading points for virtually the entire first 13 minutes of the contest, Bray knocked down a trey to go up four. Miller responded with a pair of quick baskets, the first on a short jumper and the second on a 3-pointer off a feed from Cancer. A big putback by Tarwater in the final 45 seconds put Cornell up 28-27, but Hummer put the Tigers up at the break with a short jumper to make it 29-28. The Big Red had a pair of looks in the final four seconds to go into the break with the edge, but rimmed out both attempts.

The second half saw Cornell set the tone right away. After Eitan Chemerinski stole a pass on Princeton's opening possession, Miller scored on a feed from Wroblewski. A jumper by Tarwater extended the lead to three. Momentum shifts kept coming, but each basket was answered with one by the opponent until Cornell was finally able to string together a run keyed by the rookies, including Devin Cherry. The Big Red went on a 10-2 run over nearly four minutes, with Cancer scoring on a pair of acrobatic shots in the paint, Gray hitting a short jumper on a feed from Cancer, and Cherry causing havoc with one steal and taking a charge on consecutive possessions. That put the home team ahead 50-42.

Princeton would get back as close as four on a Davis 3-pointer with seven minutes to play, but the Big Red continued to answer ever Tiger run. Cancer and Johnathan Gray scored on consecutive possessions by getting to the rim, and when Chemerinski hit an off-balance jumper at the end of the shot clock with 4:15 remaining, the game was all but decided. His steal from Bray at midcourt led to a run-out layup to get Cornell some more breathing room, and despite making just 8-of-17 free throws in the final two and a half minutes, the Big Red was able to hang on for the victory.

Cornell returns to action tomorrow at 7 p.m. when it will play host to Penn, a 66-64 victor at Columbia on Friday night.