Box Score Box Score (PDF)

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Cornell men's basketball team hit 16 3-pointers, but Western Michigan's dominance inside the paint was too much to overcome as the Broncos topped the Big Red 83-70 on Friday evening at University Arena. Western Michigan improved to 5-2, while Cornell slipped to 0-8.

Sophomore Nolan Cressler had a career-high 27 points and freshman Robert Hatter had 22 points, four rebounds and three assists for Cornell while combining to hit 11 from beyond the arc. Hatter hit a career-best six and Cressler connected on five. As a team, the Big Red shot 16-of-41, setting a school record for attempts in a game and posting the third-most treys in a single contest. Senior Dwight Tarwater added nine points and six rebounds in the loss, Cornell's 14th consecutive dating back to last season.

Western Michigan, a 23-win team a season ago, had four players in double figures led by Connar Tava with 16 points, 13 rebounds and four steals. Shayne Whittington chipped in 14 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, David Brown had 16 points and Austin Richie had 15. The Broncos held a decisive 50-16 edge in points in the paint and 20-8 on second chance points despite Cornell's 13-12 edge on the offensive glass.

Cornell made 10 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes to stay in the game against the bigger Broncos, connecting on 10-of-25 (40 percent). Hatter connected on four and Cressler hit three, including a buzzer-beating shot at the half that got the visitors within 34-32 heading into the locker room. The Big Red was able to weather the Broncos' 62 percent shooting from the floor and 18-15 edge on the glass by forcing turnovers (10 at halftime) and getting on the offensive glass (11 of their 15 boards).

Western Michigan built its leads, which grew to as many as seven, with a dominant 24-2 edge in the paint. That overshadowed a pretty good battle on Cornell's end on the glass, as Tarwater and Giddens crashed the boards hard, combining for eight offensive rebounds and a slew of second chances. Whittington led the Broncos with eight points and six rebounds, while leading scorer Brown, who entered the night averaging 22.5 points per night, was held to four in the first half.

Cornell didn't cool down much in the second half, regaining the lead immediately on a Tarwater trey and then a minute later on a floater by Hatter on the baseline. The Broncos lead never got over six points as each team made mini-runs at each other before Brown hit a jumper, Richie made a steal and hit one of two free throws and Tava tipped in a miss to extend WMU's lead to 70-59 with 5:16 remaining.

Even then, Cornell made a final run getting back to within five after Cressler hit a 3-pointer, then connected on a pair of free throws and Devin Cherry finished on the break to make it 73-68 with under two minutes to play. It was a free-throw shooting contest from there out, as the Broncos hit 8-of-10 shots from the charity stripe in the final 91 seconds. In all, the home team shot 38 free throws.

The Big Red returns to action when it faces Notre Dame on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 1 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN3. The Fighting Irish lead the all-time series 7-1.