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NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Sophomore Nolan Cressler scored a career-high 29 points and junior Devin Cherry added 19, but Cornell wasn't able to contain Yale on the backboards as the Bulldogs topped the Big Red 61-57 on Saturday evening at the John J. Lee Amphitheater. The Big Red fell to 1-17 (0-4 Ivy), while Yale improved to 9-9 (3-1 Ivy).

Cressler surpassed his career of 27 with his 29, connecting on 8-of-16 field goals, all 10 of his free throws and 3-of-6 from 3-ppoint range while adding five rebounds, two steals and two assists. Cherry scored 18 of his 19 points after halftime and made 8-of-13 shots overall. Only four players scored on the day, with Dwight Tarwater notching seven points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots.

The Big Red did a nice job defensively against Yale, limiting the Bulldogs to 38 percent shooting overall and 33 percent from 3-point range, but the home team was able to control the backboards. Yale owned a 42-26 edge on the glass and had 18 offensive rebounds and an 18-2 edge in second chance points. That was the game.

Yale got 19 points and five rebounds from Javier Duren and 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench from Justin Sears despite his 3-of-12 shooting. Armani Cotton added six points and eight rebounds and Jesse Pritchard had six points, five rebounds and two assists off the bench. In all, Yale outscored Cornell off the bench 22-0.

Cornell scored the game's first eight points and led 13-3 before Yale began to rally. The Bulldogs got back within two thanks to an 8-0 run and caught Cornell at 14-14 by the under-eight minute timeout. Yale closed out the 16-1 with a 3-pointer by Isaiah Salafia to extend the lead to 19-14 before Cornell finally responded. Cressler hit a driving layup to get him into double figures and a 3-pointer on the Big Red's next possession got the visitors back to within 21-19. The Cornell defense forced a shot clock violation to lead into the final media timeout of the half, but a good 3-pointer by Nick Victor and a dunk by Brandon Sherrod ended the half with the home team up 26-19.

The Bulldogs took the lead to 14 in the first five minutes of the second half before the Big Red started chipping away. Cressler scored nine straight to help the visitors tie the game at 47-47 with 5:25 left, but Yale answered with the biggest shot of the game. Duren got a quick corner look from 3-point range and buried it. Yale would never again trail, though Cornell cut it to one on a pair of Cressler free throws on the next possession. The Big Red got a pair of open looks to tie or cut it to one within the final 90 seconds, but rimmed out both shots. Yale was able to hit three of his four free throws in the final 13 seconds to close out the win.

The Big Red returns to action on Friday, Feb. 7 when it visits Penn at 7 p.m. at the Palestra.