Box Score  I Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. -- American jumped on Cornell at the beginning of both halves and the Big Red's closing spurts fell just short as the Eagles topped the Big Red 65-63 on Sunday afternoon at Newman Arena in Bartels Hall. American won its fourth consecutive game to improve to 4-2, while the Big Red lost its second straight to slip to 2-4.

Senior Chris Wroblewski pumped in a season-high 21 points and added six assists, four rebounds and two steals, while junior Josh Figini had a career-high 14 points and five rebounds. Freshman Shonn Miller chipped in nine points, while classmate Galal Cancer notched two points, six assists and three steals. Both players shared team high of seven rebounds. The Big Red had 19 assists and had 10 steals as a collective group.

Charles Hinkle scored 20 points, while Riley Grafft had 12 points and seven rebounds and Troy Brewer notched 12 to go along with four assists, three rebounds and three steals for American.

It was a 12-2 run to start the game and a quick 4-0 surge to start the second that put the Big Red back on its heels. The Big Red fought back each time, using an 8-0 run to close the first half to get back within 30-28 at the break after trailing by as many as 12 points (22-10). The visitors took as lead as big as 11 (52-41) with less than five minutes remaining, and Cornell again chipped it down to two (63-61) on a Figini 3-pointer from the right corner with six seconds left. The Eagles hit 10-of-12 free throws in the final minute to hold off the hard-charging Big Red, including the final five over the last 25 seconds. It was just enough to hold onto the lead.

American surged out to an early 13-2 edge behind 11 quick points by Hinkle, who was quiet most of the rest of the night save for six free throws in the final minute of play to seal the win. The nation's third-leading scorer at 24.8 ppg. broke an early 2-2 tie with a long jumper, part of 11 consecutive points scored by the senior. His last points of the surge, three free throws after being fouled behind the arc, made it 13-2 with 13:11 showing on the clock.

Max Groebe hit a 3-pointer, followed by another in short order by Drew Ferry, started Cornell's energy. Wroblewski, who entered the game shooting just 17 percent from the floor, nailed a big 3-pointer to get the crowd into the contest at 22-13, but American again moved ahead by double figures on a jumper by Brewer and a layup by Grafft.

The Big Red began its run moments later. It started with a Figini layup on a brilliant feed underneath by Wroblewski. The senior than came off screens twice in the lane for 10-foot jumpers that touched nothing but net. Consecutive baskets by freshmen Cancer and Miller cut the lead to four with 39 seconds to play, and after a Hinkle miss, Wroblewski rushed up the court and got an open look that rimmed out, but Miller was there for the tip-in to make it 30-28 going into the break. The 8-0 run over the final 1:56 put the home team right back into the game.

American scored the first four points, but its defense shut out the Big Red for the first 2:43 as it moved its lead to six at 34-28. A Wroblewski 3-pointer cut the deficit in half and a find underneath to Figini for a dunk got the home team back to even at 3-34 with 16:11 showing on the clock. The Big Red grabbed a brief lead four minutes later on a reverse layup by Miles Asafo-Adjei, who cut through the defense for the bucket to make it 40-38. It was short-lived however, as Simon McCormack had a left-handed finish to knot the score to begin a 10-0 Eagle run.

Grafft led the charge, as the reserve big man had six straight points to help American extend its lead to eight at 46-38. Another timely 3-pointer by Wroblewski made it a five-point game, but the Eagles went on another 6-0 to make the spurt 16-3 over the span of just 3:31. Cornell had a last surge in them, cutting the 11-point deficit to four (55-51) on a thunderous dunk by Miller, but after getting a defensive stop, Wroblewski's jumper was blocked and recovered by American. The fouling began shortly after. Despite scoring 12 points in the final minute, including six by Wroblewski, the Big Red couldn't get all the way back.

Cornell will attempt to snap a two-game skid when it plays host to Lehigh on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena.