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ITHACA, N.Y. -- Columbia closed the game on a 23-7 run to earn the season sweep of the Ivy-opening travel partner series with Cornell, taking a 74-58 victory over the Big Red on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena. The Lions improved to 13-6 (2-0 Ivy), while the Big Red fell to 1-15 (0-2 Ivy).

Devin Cherry had 12 points and five rebounds to lead three Cornell double figure scorers, with Robert Hatter added 11 points and Ned Tomic coming off the bench for 11 points and seven rebounds. Nolan Cressler had six points, six rebounds and four assists for a Cornell team that shot 38 percent overall and just 7-of-19 from the free-throw line.

Columbia shot 50 percent form the floor, though the Ivy League's top 3-point shooting team was limited to 2-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Lions were able to feast from the free-throw line, however, hitting 26-of-30 from the charity stripe. Maodo Lo scored 20 points, while Cory Osetkowski had 19 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Alex Rosenberg (17 points, five rebounds, four assists) and Grant Mullins (12 points, five rebounds) also reached double figures.

Right from the get-go, the Big Red was ready to challenge the Lions. While the Big Red knocked down some early shots from the outside, Columbia pounded the ball in the paint with its first six points coming off layups to take a 6-5 lead at the 16:08 mark. Back-to-back layups from Cherry put the home team back on top and opened up a 10-4 run that gave Cornell the 15-10 advantage with just over 12 minutes to play.

The Lions cut the lead to two points (18-16), but a traditional three-point play from Tomic and a deep ball from Hatter pushed Cornell's lead back to 24-18 with just under eight minutes to play.

The Lions came back by going to its big men once again, as Osetkowski and Rosenberg combined for seven consecutive to restore the lead to the visitors (25-24) with 5:12 to go in the first half.

Four unanswered points by Tomic put Cornell back on top 28-25 and the Big Red held on for a well-earned 35-32 lead at the half.

The Lions scored the first six points of the second half to spark an extended 15-6 run and take its largest lead of the game, 47-41, with 13:43 to play.

A fast break 3-pointer from Matthews brought the Newman crowd alive and opened up an 8-0 Big Red spurt that saw a jumper from the top of the key from Tomic and a deep trey from Tarwater to restore the 51-49 lead to Cornell with just under 10 to go in the contest.

A layup from Maodo Lo tied the game and ended the Cornell spurt. It also triggered a prolonged 17-2 run (66-53) that essentially sealed the game for the Lions.

The Big Red will begin its first true Ivy League road weekend when it visits Brown on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I.