Brown 57 Cornell 56
Cornell’s proven it can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory better than anyone. The Big Red fell to 0-5 in games decided by three points or fewer in devastating fashion, blowing a 40-23 second-half lead and falling following Cedric Kuakumensah’s game-winning shot with two seconds left. Minus Shonn Miller, the Big Red managed to shoot sub-30 percent against the conference’s worst defense. Cornell’s offense is broken, but credit to Brown for coming back in the second half of the second game of a back-to-back.
The Brown Bears men's basketball team (12-15, 3-7 Ivy) defeated the (12-14, 4-6 Ivy) Cornell Big Red 57-56 on Saturday night at the Pizzitola Center. Brown is now 3-2 in their last five games.
Trailing 56-55 with less than five seconds to go, Brown put the ball in the hands of Cedric Kuakumensah out of a time out and he nailed a jump shot with two seconds left on the clock to give the Bears a thriliing 57-56 win.
Brown trailed by 17, 40-23, with 17 minutes left in the game before making a furious rally. The Bears went on a 14-5 run over the next seven minutes to get themselves back in the game trailing 45-37 with ten minutes left to go. Then trailing 47-37, Brown went on a 9-2 run to pull themselves to within three at 49-46.
Before Kuakumensah's game winner, the Bears led for less than a minute in the game, breifly holding a 16-15 lead.
Brown was led by Tavon Blackmon who netted 17 points in the game while J.R. Hobbie followed up with 12.
Cornell was led by Shonn Miller who netted a game high 27 points and also pulled down eight rebounds.
Brown returns to action on Friday, February 27 when they host Penn at the Pizzitola Center.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown led for all of 32 seconds in a game controlled by the Big Red throughout, but it was the last 1.8 seconds that mattered the most as the Bears rallied past Cornell 57-56 on Saturday evening at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The loss dropped Cornell to 12-14 (4-6 Ivy) on the season, while Brown improved to 12-15 (3-7 Ivy).
Brown rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to take its first and only lead on a circus shot by Cedric Kuakumensah with 1.8 seconds left. His off-balanced runner in the lane hit every part of the rim before dropping in for the game-winner. He ended the night with 11 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots to overcome a dominant 27point, eight-rebound effort from Cornell's Shonn Miller.
Miller hit 10-of-17 shots from the floor, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and added the eight rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. With his effort, he moved within 18 points of becoming the school's 25th 1,000-point scorer.
Senior Galal Cancer had 13 points and sophomore David Onuorah had three of Cornell's four blocked shots, helping Cornell establish a new single-season record for swats with 129.
Tavon Blackmon had 17 points to lead four Brown double figure scorers, with JR Hobbie scoring 12 and both Steven Spieth and Kuakumensah notching 11. Rafael Maia had 11 rebounds for the Bears, who held a 36-28 edge on the backboards.
Cornell scored the game's first six points and led virtually the entire game, only allowing the Bears to take a short-lived lead on a 3-pointer by JR Hobbie to make it 16-15 with 11:25 left before halftime. The Big Red answered with a 17-1 run to go up 32-17 after Cancer hit a deep 3-pointer with 3:02 remaining in the first half. The Bears chipped four points off the lead before the break, but a basket by Miller, then a last-second blocked shot by the senior, sent the visitors into halftime leading 34-23.
The Big Red opened the second half with six straight points to extend the advantage to 40-23 three minutes in, but Brown wouldn't go away. The Bears embarked on a 12-0 run over the next 4:21 to get within five (40-35) with more than 12 minutes left.
Cornell got the lead back to 10 with a 7-2 run that included another Cancer 3-pointer and a vicious putback dunk by Onuorah. Again, Brown responded.
The Bears got back within three on a 3-pointer by Blackmon, then later to two after Blackmon hit one in the lane. Three straight Big Red misses, including what proved to be a game-saving block by Kuakumensah after an offensive putback attempt by the Big Red with 18 seconds left, led to the driving game-winner. Miller caught a full-length pass on the right wing after a Big Red timeout with 1.8 seconds left, but his off-balanced shot fell short as the Brown comeback was complete.
Cornell will play its final regular season home games next week beginning with a CBS College Sports game against first-place Harvard on Friday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. from Newman Arena.
Providence, R.I. – Junior forward Cedric Kuakumensah connected on an off-balance jump shot in the lane with 1.4 seconds remaining as Brown rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to defeat Cornell, 57-56, in an Ivy league game at the Pizzitola Sports Center.
The Bears improve to 12-15 overall, 3-7 in the Ivy League, while Cornell falls to 12-14 overall, 4-6 in Ivy play.
Trailing 56-52, Brown sophomore guard JR Hobbie connected on a trey with 2:03 left to draw the Bears to within one point, 56-55.
Kuakumensah blocked a shot by Cornell's Darryl Smith with 19 seconds left, giving Brown the last possession.
Following a timeout with 9.6 seconds remaining, Kuakumensah caught the inbounds pass near the mid court line, and was unable to hand off to Bears' sophomore point guard Tavon Blackmon. With the clock running down, Kuakumensah dribbled into the lane, and shot an off-balance jumper that bounced around the rim several times before falling through with 1.4 seconds remaining.
"That was not exactly how we drew it up," said Brown head coach Mike Martin, "but I'm proud of our team for staying in the game when we fell behind. Cedric was forced to make a play at the end of the game and he made a terrific play against one of the best defenders (Shonn Miller) in the Ivy League."
Kuakumensah finished the game with 11 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots. He moved into sole possession of second place in all-time Ivy league blocked shots with 230, trailing the all-time mark of 252 blocks by Dartmouth's Brian Gilpin from 1993-1997.
Blackmon paced the Bears' attack by scoring 11 of his team high 17 points in the second half. Hobbie finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the three-point arc, and sophomore Steven Spieth chipped in with 11 points.
Senior forward Rafael Maia pulled down a game high 11 rebounds for the Bears and handed out a career high six assists.
Kuakumensah's heroics overshadowed a terrific performance by Cornell's Shonn Miller, who scored 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, while grabbing eight rebounds. Galal Cancer also scored in double figures for the Big Red with 13 points.
Brown held a 16-15 lead at the 11:25 mark the opening half when Hobbie connected on his third consecutive trey.
The Big Red responded with a 17-1 run to grab a 32-17 lead on a trey by Cancer with 3:02 remaining in the half. Miller had six points in the spurt.
A late Brown run by the Bears cut Cornell's lead to 34-23 at halftime.
Cornell picked up in the second half where it left off in the opening 20 minutes, scoring the first six points to pull ahead by a 40-23 margin.
Brown got back in the game with an 12-0 run, to cut Cornell's lead to just five points, 40-35, with Spieth's seven points sparking the Bears' run.
A fast break trey by Blackmon with 7:08 left in the game drew the Bears to within three points, 47-44.
Brown completes its Pizzitola Sports Center home schedule next week, hosting Penn on Friday, February 27 at 7 pm, and Princeton on Saturday, February 28 at 6 pm. Saturday's game against the Tigers is Senior Night, with seniors Rafael Maia, Jon Schmidt, Dockery Walker and Longji Yiljep being honored in ceremonies prior to the game.
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