Playing for its first NCAA tournament berth in two decades, Cornell gave a wired standing room-only crowd a dominating performance to remember. Bringing Penn and Princeton's 20-year supremacy over Ivy League men's basketball to a resounding end, Cornell shot Harvard into a 25-point first half deficit and waltzed into the Big Dance with a title-clinching 86-53 victory Saturday night. 'No words can express the way you felt when that horn went off,' said forward Jason Hartford, Cornell's lone senior. 'Everything you worked for all season ... went to that one sound of the horn. All you could do is run as fast as you could and go out in the middle of the court and jump as high as you can and just share it with the people that were there with you the whole way.' An overflow student section, raucous from the opening tip, stormed the court in celebration of Cornell's first league championship since 1988. They stayed long after the final buzzer to watch and cheer each cut of the net, singing along as Queen's 'We are the Champions' blasted throughout the arena. 'I feel like a proud parent,' Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. 'I'm like, 'Those guys did it for me.' I was just along for the ride. They took and ran with it. Just a tremendous group of kids who are close and don't care how it gets done.' Some of the loudest cheers were saved for Khaliq Gant (6'3''-G), who suffered a career-ending neck injury that left him temporarily paralyzed during a practice in January of 2006. As the final seconds ticked away, Gant hopped lightly up and down at the end of the bench, waving a towel feverishly as the crowd noise reached deafening levels. 'It's euphoria,' said Gant, donning a 2008 Ivy League Championship hat. 'It's a great feeling. ... I've been with the guys every step of the way. It's been fantastic.' Cornell put this game, its 14th straight victory and 20th of the season, on ice early. As Harvard, winless on the road, endured long stretches without a field goal, the Big Red's slew of scorers knocked down shots from every angle. Ivy League Player of the Year candidate Ryan Wittman (6'6''-F) drained two consecutive 3's and junior teammate Adam Gore (6'0''-G) knocked down another � his third of the half � to push the Big Red's lead into the 20's. Cornell shot a blistering 65% in the first half, with Wittman and Gore hitting on 8-of-11 from the field and totaling 21 points. Louis Dale (5'11''-G) contested floater in the lane in the final seconds gave the hosts an insurmountable 45-20 advantage at the break. The second half was one long celebration, allowing Donahue to empty his bench quickly. At the 15-minute mark, the student section took up the chant, 'It's all over.' With just under four minutes left, two Cornell cheerleaders unveiled a banner across Newman Arena's court bearing the words, '2008 Ivy League Champions,' prompting the crowd of 4,473 to give another standing ovation. By that time, all Donahue could do was sit nervously on the bench and wait out the clock. 'It's so gratifying, so rewarding,' he said. 'I'm so excited for my guys. They get to sit there on Selection Sunday, and when the world knows what you've accomplished, it makes you feel proud.' Eight years ago, when Donahue arrived at Cornell following 10 years as an assistant at Penn, he'd occasionally remind his team of the program's ultimate goal. 'I used to play the CBS song for the tournament to my guys in the locker room and joke around and try to imitate Jim Nantz,' he said. Now, his vision of seeing Cornell in the field of 65 will become reality on March 16, when CBS broadcasts the tournament pairings. 'Amazing,' Donahue said, for a team whose rotation is comprised of mostly underclassmen. Despite the grueling demands of the Ivy League's back-to-back weekend schedule, Cornell (20-5, 12-0) is in line to become the first team to run the table since Penn in 2003. Cornell visits Penn on Friday, and wraps up the regular season on Saturday at Princeton. 'Just because of the youth on the team, I knew they were a special group of guys, but to figure out what it takes day in, day out to win back-to-back against teams that are very similar in talent,' Donahue said. 'I'm amazed that we're 12-0.' Courtesy of Ivy League
All-Ivy League 1st Team Louis Dale of Cornell Jeff Foote (7'0''-C) of Cornell Ryan Wittman of Cornell Jeremy Lin (6'3''-G) of Harvard Zack Rosen (6'1''-G) of Penn All-Ivy League 2nd Team Matthew Mullery (6'8''-F-87) of Brown Noruwa Agho (6'3''-G) of Columbia Jack Eggleston (6'8''-F-88) of Penn Douglas Davis (5'11''-G-89) of Princeton Dan Mavraides (6'4''-G-88) of Princeton Alex Zampier (6'3''-G) of Yale All-Ivy League Honorable Mention Chris Wroblewski (6'0''-G) of Cornell Kyle Casey (6'7''-F) of Harvard Michael Sands (6'7''-F) of Yale All-Ivy League Player of the Year: Ryan Wittman of Cornell All-Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year: Jeff Foote of Cornell All-Ivy League Rookie of the Year: Kyle Casey of Harvard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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