Box Score Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Junior Johnathan Gray had a career-high 29 points and senior Chris Wroblewski added 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the duo hit big shot after big shot in leading Cornell to an 85-84 overtime victory over Yale on Friday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 9-12 (4-3 Ivy), while the Bulldogs fell to 15-6 (5-2 Ivy).

Gray, who bested his previous career high of 18 points set earlier this year against Bucknell, hit 10-of-18 shots from the floor and 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range. He added six rebounds in the victory. Wroblewski was also outstanding, particularly in the final three minutes of regulation and overtime. He ended the night with zero turnovers while repeatedly getting the Big Red shots late in the contest. He nailed a pair of huge jumpers in the final two minutes and set up Eitan Chemerinski for a layup and Gray for a trey that led to overtime.

The Big Red's pressure defense caused fits for the Bulldogs, as Cornell scored 23 points off 15 Yale turnovers. The home team won despite allowing the bigger Bulldogs to shoot 53 percent from the floor by hitting 71 percent  in the extra period as the Big Red improved to 3-0 in overtime at home this season and 3-1 overall. Cornell hit 12 3-pointers and assisted on 20 baskets. The home team overcame a 14-point first half deficit to win its third contest in the last four outings.

Austin Morgan had a team-high 22 points to lead four Yale players in double figures, with Michael Grace scoring 15, Greg Mangano notching 14 and Jeremiah Kreisberg posting 13 points and nine boards.

Tied 62-62 at the final media timeout, Wroblewski rebounded a missed Moragn jumper, then found Chemerinski on a slip for a layup on the next possession. After rebounding another miss by Morgan, Drew Ferry had a 3-pointer blocked, but Wroblewski tipped the ball out for an offensive rebound, then got it back and hit a jumper from inside the key over Mangano to put Cornell up 66-62 with two minutes remaining. Yale's Grace hit a 3-pointer to get the visitors back within one, and after a Mangano block, Reggie Willhite was fouled and made both free throws to put the Bulldogs ahead 67-66 with a minute to play.

Wroblewski again made a play, hitting a baseline jumper to put Cornell back up one with 38 ticks left on the clock, and Morgan answered on the other end with a layup to put Yale back in the lead again with 20 seconds to play (69-68). Undaunted, Wroblewski found a wide open Gray off the dribble and the former walk-on canned his fourth 3-pointer of the night to make Cornell's lead 71-69 with 12 seconds left. But that wasn't it. Morgan took the inbounds pass, drove the length of the floor and got a floater to drop to knot the score with four seconds left, but the Big Red had its desperation shot blocked by Mangano to send the game into the extra session.

Once in overtime, Cornell continued to make plays. After forcing a Yale miss, Tarwater rebounded a missed Ferry 3-pointer in traffic and put it back in. Though Yale tied it up, a free throw by Chemerinski gave the Big Red a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Cornell's defense got a stop and Wroblewski again found Gray wide open for a 3-pointer to make it 77-73. A jumper by Tarwater pushed the lead back to four after Yale scored, and Gray's second trey of overtime and sixth of the night with 1:32 left gave the Big Red an 82-78 edge.

Yale still wouldn't go away, with Willhite knocking down a trey with a minute to play, but Wroblewski - again - hit a step-back jumper inside of 30 seconds. The Big Red forced a miss and Gray knocked down the first of two free throws to seal the win. Grace knocked in a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the score 85-84.

Few in the arena would have predicted such an exciting outcome after watching the first 15 minutes. Yale built a double digit lead in the first five minutes and went up as many as 14 points (32-18) with 5:32 left in the first half before Cornell came to life. The Big Red ended the half on a 15-2 run capped by a buzzer-beating basket on the break by Chemerinski after 3-pointers by Gray and Miller to go into the locker room within 34-33. Yale shot 52 percent from the floor by halftime and held a 23-14 edge on the backboard.

Cornell proved it was in the game to stay by scoring the first five points of the second half to take a 38-34 edge. Gray scooped up an offensive rebound and put it back and Wroblewski, after a steal and offensive rebound by Gray, found Miller for another 3-pointer. The game went back-and-forth, shot-for-shot, with Cornell leading by as many as six (51-45) to set up the dramatic finish.

The Big Red will next play host to Brown on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena.