Box Score Box Score
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Cornell overcame a five-point halftime deficit and grinded out a 71-57 win over Columbia on Saturday evening at Levien Gymnasium to open defense of its 2007-08 Ivy League championship. The Big Red limited the Lions to 29 percent shooting in the contest to improve to 11-6 overall (1-0 Ivy), while the Lions fell to 5-10 (0-1 Ivy).
Louis Dale had 19 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead four players in double figures for the Big Red, which shot 49 percent from the floor as a team. Ryan Wittman added 16 points and six rebounds, Alex Tyler had 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, and Chris Wroblewski posted 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Jeff Foote added nine points and five boards. The Big Red connected on 65 percent from the floor after halftime and limited the Lions to 26 percent in the final 20 minutes, using a 32-12 run to open the second half to turn a five-point deficit into a 15-point lead. Cornell won the battle of the boards 44-40.
Niko Scott had a game-high 21 points and added eight rebounds for Columbia, but was the lone Lion in double figures. Three other players added nine, including Jason Miller with nine points and nine rebounds. Noruwo Agho had nine points, but made just 3-of-16 shots, while Kevin Bulger was limited to two points on 0-of-7 shooting.
Neither team could get things going early, as it was just 9-9 more than seven minutes into the contest. Cornell went on a 6-0 run to gain the lead at 15-9 after a pair of short jumpers in the lane sandwiched around a Wittman bank shot from the free-throw line. Three free throws by Niko Scott and a three-point play by Patrick Foley tied it up a minute later. A layup by Joe Bova at the six-minute mark would give the Lions the lead for good in the first half. That edge extended to as many as five points before the halftime horn sounded.
Columbia's defense limited Wittman to 2-of-10 shooting from the floor in the first 20 minutes, including misses on all five of his 3-point attempts. Dale and Foote combined for 16 of the team's 23 points.
The second half was a show of the Big Red's might, with Columbia only hanging on with some desperation offensive rebounding. Cornell burst out of the gates in the second half, scoring 14 points in the first 4:15 to regain the lead 37-36 at the first media timeout as Wittman started getting hot. The junior drilled two baseline jumpers and canned a free throw. Cornell extended its lead by scoring on eight straight possessions, the last on a driving bucket by Wroblewski that forced a Lion timeout with 12:36 and the Big Red leading 48-40. That was part of the 16-2 run that pushed the lead to 55-40. Tyler and Wroblewski were the sparks during the run, as Wroblewski tallied eight points and Tyler had four points and three rebounds.
Cornell will look for the season sweep of Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 4 p.m. at Newman Arena as part of a doubleheader with the women's team.
