Box Score Box Score
JAMAICA, N.Y. -- Cornell head coach Steve Donahue watched as four players scored in double figures as the ninth-year mentor recorded his 100th career victory in claiming a sweep of the NIT Preseason Tip-Off consolation games, knocking off Eastern Michigan 67-54 on Tuesday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena. The win improved Cornell to 4-2 overall, while the Eagles fell to 1-5 with the loss.
Junior Ryan Wittman scored 19 points and senior Jeff Foote and junior Geoff Reeves added 15 apiece to lead the Big Red offense. Junior Alex Tyler added 10 points, five rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in the victory. Foote took over the game late, hitting 7-of-8 shot soverall, adding a team-high six rebounds with three assists, two blocked shots and zero turnovers. Reeves had six assists and just one turnover while playing 37 minutes. Cornell made just 5-of-19 from 3-point range, including 1-of-9 for Wittman, but the Big Red was 24-of-37 from inside the arc. The home team on the scoreboard for the second straight night, the Big Red had 16 assists and just four turnovers in the contest.
Eastern Michigan got 11 points each from Brandon Bowdry and L.J. Frazier, while Zae Gay had nine points. The Eagles held a 35-25 advantage on the glass and made 6-of-12 3-pointers. EMU shot just 43 percent from the field and got to the free-throw line just seven times.
Despite lacking the offensive crispness it showed in Monday's win over Loyola-Chicago, the Big Red still was able to take a 31-28 lead into the break behind eight points and four assists from Reeves and six points apiece from Wittman and Tyler. The Eagles stayed in the contest by shooting 60 percent from the floor for the first 10 minutes in building an eight-point edge, but watched the Big Red claw back into the game. EMU held a 16-10 advantage on the backboards in the first 20 minutes.
With Eastern Michigan leading 20-12 with 8:39 to play, Cornell used some great passing by Reeves and TYler to create baskets for the Big Red, getting the home team back to within five. A Reeves 3-pointer from the corner on a pass from Wroblewski made the score 22-18, while Wroblewski's 3-pointer and a find for Wittman for a layup caught the Big Red back up at 26-26. A runner just outside the lane by Reeves and a 3-point basket from the corner on a quick pass from Wittman pushed Cornell's lead to five before a last-second slip by the Eagles' Wendell Farrow as time expired cut the Big Red's halftime lead to three at 31-28.
Cornell held a comfortable lead throughout the second half before the Eagles made a late run to get the game back within 10 at 59-49. Like clockwork, Foote found a cutting Wittman for a layup, followed the the senior center taking it himself for a little hook in the lane to make it 63-49 with three minutes to play.
It was the Jeff Foote show late, as the 7-0 center hit three baskets and had three assists in the closing four minutes, including a pretty feed to Wittman for a reverse layup for the high post.
Cornell returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 4 p.m. when it visits Indiana at Assembly Hall. It will be the first-ever meeting between the programs and can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.
