SOURCE: Davidson College Sports Information
NEW YORK – Ryan Wittman hit a 35-foot 3-pointer as the horn sounded in overtime to lift Cornell to a 91-88 men’s basketball 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 when JP Kuhlman missed a free throw. A pass went to Wittman, who pulled up a few feet past half court and swished home the 3-pointer as time ran off the clock.
It was the seventh three-pointer for Wittman, who scored a game-high 29 points.
Jake Cohen led the Wildcats (now 3-8 overall) 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.
