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audio - coach sydney johnson & kyle koncz

Cornell had just completed a perfect 14-0 run through the Ivy League, so what were Princeton co-captains Kyle Koncz and Noah Savage doing in the Big Red locker room?

"We just congratulated them," Koncz explained. "They're a great team and they had a great season, so you have to pay your respects to their team and wish them luck in the tournament."

"As a player, you're frustrated, because a 14-0 season is what you dream of here," Koncz added. "That's what you want to do. You have to be a man and step up and congratulate someone who did it and competed hard every night and did something that's very hard to do. If you don't pay your respect to them and tell them good luck, then I think that's saying something about you."

Princeton played Cornell even for the first 32 minutes of Saturday night's meeting at Jadwin Gym.

Consecutive three point shots by Louis Dale turned a one possession game into a 57-48 Cornell lead as the Big Red pulled away for a 71-64 victory in their final regular season contest before the NCAA tournament.

Louis Dale scored a game-high 21 points in the victory, 17 in the final 20 minutes. Ryan Wittman had 16 points and Jason Hartford added 15 for the Big Red.

How did Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson assess Dale's second half?

"I assessed very good three point shooting," Princeton's head coach cracked.

Freshman Kareem Maddox dropped a new career high of 16 points to pace Princeton, his second straight quality performance. Nick Lake scored 15 off the bench and Koncz added 10 along with a team-best eight rebounds. Princeton's reserves outscored Cornell 36-5.

The Big Red took an early 8-3 lead on three point shots by the dangerous Adam Gore and Geoff Reeves.

Jason Briggs drove the lane and kicked off to the left side for a Zach Woolridge three. Woolridge played just four minutes in his second career start, replaced early by Maddox, who played well enough that Woolridge never returned from the sidelines.

Following a pass from 7'0" backup center Jeff Foote in the paint to a cutting Wittman, Maddox hit a hooker in the lane on Foote and Maddox stepped behind the arc for a jumper that kissed the front of the rim, bounced off the backboard, nestled in the basket and put Princeton in front 11-10.

Maddox, who was 1-13 in his Princeton career from deep before that shot, would go 2-10 from the perimeter against Cornell.

Cornell responded with a 10-1 run, capped off by a Wittmann three point shot. Princeton was down 23-15 after Adam Gore hit from outside.

Alex Tyler looked to have a simple layup in his sights, but Maddox came from nowhere to block the shot and keep the ball in play. Down at the other end of the court Noah Savage drove into traffic and scored while being fouled by Tyler.

A muddled Tiger possession suddenly had clarity as Nick Lake came up with a loose ball and hit from the wing. Princeton was within 23-21 and 7:46 remained before halftime.

Louis Dale went high off the glass to put Cornell up by six with three minutes to go.

Kareem Maddox took the ball at the free throw line and passed across to Kyle Koncz on the right side for three. Geoff Reeves split one of two free throws after being fouled by Maddox. Maddox used a Kevin Steuerer hand-off screen to size up his second three of the game. Lake gave Princeton the lead heading into the locker room when he crashed the weak side boards and banked back a wild shot by backup center Pawel Buczak that sailed over the rim.

Princeton led 32-31 at intermission. The Tigers were 11-29 from the field in the first 20 minutes (37.9%), compared to Cornell's 12-24 clip (50.0%). Princeton was 6-17 from outside (35.3%). The Big Red shot 6-12 from distance (50.0%). The orange and black went 4-6 at the charity stripe (66.7%) while Cornell was 1-5 (20.0%). Princeton outrebounded Cornell 20-12 in the first half, tipping out many long rebounds to keep possessions alive.

Jason Hartford scored inside to start the second half. Kareem Maddox's eighth three point attempt was off the mark and a runner by Wittman made it a three point lead for Cornell. Savage passed to Koncz stepping out behind the arc to even the scoreboard at 35.

Kevin Steuerer's lefty blow-by tied the game for the final time with 17:17 remaining.

Hartford's tip follow of a missed layup by Dale pushed Cornell back in front. When Nick Lake crashed out of bounds on drive, slow to get up with an injured left foot, the Big Red took advantage of the one man advantage, as Hartford scored again on the baseline.

Noah Savage picked up his third personal foul at the 13:48 mark and was whistled for his fourth nine seconds later as he bumped Dale on a drive that made the score 47-42 Cornell. Savage headed to the bench, replaced by Buczak. Savage would not return until the 6:36 mark.

Lake's lefty scoop drew Princeton within 49-46 with 9:27 to go. Tyler flashed to the basket and laid in a Dale feed to make the lead five. Steuerer stopped in the paint and found Buczak sliding down the baseline for a reverse.

Princeton had the ball and a chance to tie as Koncz got a clean look behind a Lake screen that was off the mark.

At the other side of Jadwin Gym, Louis Dale was on target behind the arc.

"I made an effort to be more aggressive [in the second half]," said Dale following the Cornell victory. "I just let it fly without thinking about it and they went in."

The next time Dale touched the ball he quickly shot again from deep and increased the Big Red lead to a game-high nine points.

Jason Briggs pulled Princeton within six, laying in a Steuerer pass ahead of the pack. The Tigers could get no closer, as Maddox could not covert a shuffle pass from Savage for three. Princeton was still within two possessions when Hartford - Cornell's lone senior, outworked Savage for a putback of a missed free throw by Foote, fouling out Savage in the process.

Cornell had been pitiful from the free throw line before the game's final minute, where the Big Red went 5-6 and shut down any thought of a collapse similar to what happened at the Palestra one evening previous.

Notes:

-Princeton was 24-58 from the field (41.4%), 10-28 from three point range (35.7%) and 6-10 from the free throw line (60.0%).

-Cornell, one of the five best free throw shooting teams in the nation, started their game against Princeton a near-impossible 1-10 at the stripe. The Big Red finished 6-16 on the night.

-Zach Finley missed a second straight game with an ankle injury.

-Sophmores Lincoln Gunn and Marcus Schroeder did not play on Saturday.

-Cornell became the first Ivy League team to go undefeated in conference play since Penn ran the table in 2002-03. The Big Red are the first Ivy League team besides Penn or Princeton to accomplish this feat.

-Princeton hosts Penn on Tuesday night in the season finale for both teams. The game, which Kyle Koncz described to the media as a "one game career," will be televised on ESPNU and starts at 7:00 pm ET. The Tigers will honor five seniors before the game.