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ITHACA, N.Y. -- Yale jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first half and spoiled Cornell's Senior Day, holding off the Big Red for a 79-70 win on Saturday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red slipped to 13-16 (5-7 Ivy), while Yale improved to 12-17 (6-6 Ivy).

All five seniors that dressed started and scored, with Errick Peck ending his home career with a game-high 19 points. He was joined at 19 by freshman Nolan Cressler, who added six rebounds. Both players hit four 3-pointers as the Big Red connected on 10 as a team. The Big Red stayed in the game by limiting its turnovers (10) and hitting the offensive glass hard (20). In all, Cornell held a 42-33 edge on the backboards.

Senior Miles Asafo-Adjei scored nine points, grabbed four rebounds and four assists and sophomore backcourt mate Galal Cancer netted six points with four rebounds and four helpers. Cornell couldn't shake its 28 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, cutting the 17-point deficit to as little as four with more than six minutes remaining.Yale answered with a layup and pulled back away to earn the win.

Head coach Bill Courtney reinserted his seniors with a little more than a minute left in the contest and watched Peter McMillan nail a 3-pointer from the top of the key and shortly afterwards pulled them all for a final time with 19 seconds left so they could earn a standing ovation.

Yale's Matt Townsend got 19 points and grabbed four boards to lead the Bulldogs, as four players reached double figures. Austin Morgan scored 15, Brandon Sherrod had 13 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots and Greg Kelley had 10.

For the second night in a row, sophomore Deion Giddens provided good energy off the bench with three points, a career-high nine rebounds and three blocks. He also had a steal while playing a career-best 24 minutes. He matched senior Eitan Chemerinski for the team lead with nine boards, as both grabbed six offensive rebounds.

Cornell, playing for the second straight night without three starters and its two leading scorers, watched as the Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-3 lead and never threatened in the second half, as every basket was seemingly answered by an easier Yale bucket. That changed after halftime, as Cornell limited the Bulldogs to 38 percent shooting and crawled back into the contest.

Cressler got the Big Red rolling with a layup on one end, the first of his seven straight points to open the second half. Giddens blocked three shots in a span of just 1:17 to change the complexion of the half, and all of a sudden easy baskets became harder to come by for the visitors. Cressler and Peck hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to get back within 10 with 10 minutes to play, and the duo again went back-to-back to get within four (57-52) when the senior connected with 6:29 left. On the ensuing possession, Yale's Sam Martin found Matt Townsend for a layup to push it back to four. Shortly afterwards the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to seal the game away.

Cornell will close out the 2012-13 season on the road, where it is 4-1 in Ivy League play, beginning with a visit to Dartmouth on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.