ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell took a brief lead midway through the second half, but Javier Duren's 3-pointer on the ensuing possession triggered an 8-0 Yale run and the Big Red never recovered in a 65-57 loss to Yale on Saturday evening at Newman Arena. The Bulldogs improved to 15-6 (4-0 Ivy), while the Big Red slipped to 10-10 (2-2 Ivy).

The Big Red shot just 33 percent for the game and 19 percent from 3-point range, but stayed in the contest with its defense. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 16 times and shot under 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from the arc, but its clear advantages on the glass (46-31) and at the free throw line (22-13) were too much to overcome in a grind-it-out type game.

Shonn Miller had 15 points, 11 rebounds and two steals, but like his teammates, struggled from the floor with 6-of-20 shooting. Devin Cherry added 14 points and five assists and Galal Cancer had 12 points and two steals in the loss. Cornell had nine steals that led to an 18-7 Big Red advantage off turnovers and turned the ball over themselves just eight times, allowing them to stay within shouting distance until the final five minutes.

Justin Sears had a game-high 19 points and Javier Duren notched 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Matt Townsend rounded out the double figure scorers with 13 points. Armani Cotton had a solid all-around floor game, scoring seven points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Yale took a 31-25 lead into the half after leading throughout the first 20 minutes, though most of the way by five points or less. The Bulldogs went up seven early (12-5) and then again late (23-16), but Cornell used a 3-pointer by Miller and a tip-in by Darryl Smith after a Miller miss to get back within a point with three minutes left in the half. A pair of dunks by Sears stretched the lead to two possessions, the second with eight seconds left, but undaunted, Cherry went coast-to-coast and was fouled at the buzzer. He made the second of his two free throws to send the game to the break.

Cornell started the second half quickly, with two free throws by Cherry and a dunk by Miller to get within 31-30 and tied the contest at 35-35 four minutes later after Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof hit a 3-pointer and Hatter broke down the court for a layup after a Bulldog miss. A minute later, Cancer hit two free throws to give the Big Red its first lead since 2-0 at 37-35. Almost immediately, Duren calmly sank a lefthanded 3-pointer, triggering the run that would provide the cushion. 

A conventional three-point play on an inbounds curl by Pat Smith got the Big Red within a possession at 43-40 with under nine minutes remaining, and a Cherry jumper a minute later answered a Yale basket to keep it a three-point game. Cornell made one last run, cutting a 10-point Bulldog lead to six in the blink of an eye with a putback by Dave LaMore and a steal by Hatter on the ensuing possession that turned into a Miller dunk on the other end to force a Yale timeout with under four minutes to play. The Big Red defense forced a miss, but as it did a number of times throughout the contest, Yale rebounded its own miss and Townsend put it back to end the momentum. After a Cornell miss, Armani Cotton hit his second 3-pointer of the night to close it out.

Cornell remains at home next weekend to face Penn and Princeton. The matchup with the Quakers on Friday, Feb, 6 will be at 8 p.m. from Newman Arena on the American Sports Network.