Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Down 19 points in the first half at Vanderbilt on Monday night, Cornell fought to come as close as two points in the second half but could not finish off the comeback.
 
The Commodores, ahead just 40-38 midway through the second half after leading 32-13 earlier, pulled away from the Big Red once again and held on for a 66-55 victory at Memorial Gymnasium in front of 9,716 fans.
 
Cornell (4-6) was cold from downtown all night, sinking just five of 28 three-point attempts. Vanderbilt (5-4), though, was red hot, nailing six of 11 at one point in the first half and finishing with 10 three pointers on 20 attempts at the end of the night.
 
The Big Red had its chances for the comeback as it closed the first half on an 11-4 run and opened the second with an 8-2 run as well. Vanderbilt's poor free-throw shooting (10 of 19) helped keep things close, and the Cornell defense made things even closer when it dominated the early portion of the second half. The Big Red forced 15 total turnovers and scored 15 points off them.
 
Shonn Miller had his second consecutive double-double, picking up 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to lead the Big Red in both categories. He also added two blocks. Eitan Chemerinski was the Big Red's next highest scorer, reaching double figures with 10.
 
Miles Asafo-Adjei, playing in front of a hometown crowd that included his parents and sisters, had three assists, two steals, two rebounds and a point. Dwight Tarwater, from nearby Knoxville, had three points in seven minutes with family and friends watching as well.
 
Playing for the first time since a Dec. 1 win against Colgate, the Big Red may have shown some rust early in the first half.
 
Despite taking a very early 5-4 lead on a three-pointer by Josh Figini, Cornell allowed Vanderbilt to go on an 11-0 run shortly after that and forced a Cornell timeout with a 17-7 lead.
 
The Commodores' offense was just heating up, though, as it caught fire from beyond the arc and took a 25-10 lead at the media timeout with under eight minutes left in the first half. Leading scorer Kedren Johnson had 12 points at that stage including a perfect 3 of 3 from downtown.
 
Vanderbilt's lead was as large as 19 points during the first 20 minutes, though the Big Red closed the half strong.
 
Shonn Miller got involved in the scoring, completing an athletic play with a beautiful tip-in, slashing to the basket for a layup and added three free throws to lead the team with seven points at the half. Gilal Cancer also had a jumper with four seconds left in the half to complete a 11-4 Big Red run and cut the lead to 36-24 in favor of the home team.
 
The second half started very well for the Big Red as it went on an 8-0 run early in the period to cut Vanderbilt's lead to 38-32. Miller again was a factor, blocking two shots that led directly to Cornell points. Eitan Chemerinski had a transition layup and two free throws during the run that necessitated a Vanderbilt timeout.
 
Cornell was not halted by that timeout, though, scoring the game's next six points as Chemerinski took charge on offense and took a charge on defense. Cornell got within two points before the Commodores scored seven straight to regain a nine-point advantage with 10:17 left in the contest.
 
Kyle Fuller converted what might have been the sequence of the game shortly after that, nailing a three-pointer while a teammate was fouled away from the ball. Fuller hit both free throws to finish a five-point possession for the Commodores and make it a 52-40 advantage. Cornell never got closer than seven after that.
 
Vanderbilt now leads the all-time series between the two teams 3-0 – with all three games in Nashville – and Cornell falls to 3-10 against Southeastern Conference opposition.
 
The Big Red will be back on the court Wednesday night as it travels to face No. 1 Duke. Cornell and the Blue Devils will play at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.