ITHACA, N.Y. -- For the second game in a row, the Cornell men's basketball made a comeback after digging itself a hole. This time, the Big Red was able to bring home the win, and in doing so made another early statement about where the season could go.

Cornell rallied from a 17-point first half deficit that was still 13 points with 11 minutes to play and stormed back to earn a 58-52 victory over Central New York rival Colgate on Tuesday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red matched its win total from a year ago in improving to 2-1 on the season, while the Raiders slipped to 0-2. 

Senior Devin Cherry scored 21 points, dished five assists, grabbed four rebounds and had three steals in a dominant performance as the Big Red's ability to defend and get to the free-throw line allowed the home team to complete a spirited rally in front of an energized Newman Arena. Senior Shonn Miller added seven points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks and both senior Galal Cancer and sophomore JoJo Fallas had eight points. Cornell allowed just 21 second half points and had a 12-4 advantage in points off turnovers, key in a low scoring battle.

Damon Sherman-Newsome had 19 points to lead three double figure scorers for Colgate. Austin Tillotson added 11 and Luke Roh scored 10. The Raiders struggled from the free-throw line (1-of-7) and were held to one offensive rebound as the Big Red dominated the defensive glass against a normally sharp-shooting Colgate squad.

For a significant stretch of the first half, it looked as though Colgate would run away with the win for a second straight season as Cornell struggled offensively. The Raider scored the first eight points of the game before freshman Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof got on the board with his first collegiate points, a layup underneath after a great interior pass from David Onuorah. That didn't quell the Colgate surge as the visitors extended the edge to 15-2 before the Big Red would score again.

3-pointers by Alex Ramon and Sean O'Brien, both hit after nice finds from Tillotson, left Cornell struggling for answers on both sides of the basketball, trailing 23-6 with just 7:33 left in the half.

The home team made a mini-run behind Cherry and Fallas, who scored all of the Big Red's final 16 points of the half to cut the halftime deficit to nine (31-22). Cherry scored 10 during the stretch, while Fallas, who entered the game with six career points, hit a pair of 3-pointers to match that total in one four-minute stretch. In all, the home team hit six of its final eight shots of the half after opening the stanza 2-of-19 in the first 14 minutes of the game.

Unlike Sunday's matinee at Loyola (MD), where the game was lost in the first half, Cornell would hang around until it was in the lead.

Cornell's energy in the second half was apparent right away, but four minutes in the Raiders had actually bumped the lead to 13. Robert Hatter had a steal for the Big Red and Cancer took it and scored on the other end on the team's first defensive and offensive possessions of the second half, but the run started with 11 minutes to play in regulation and the home team trailing by 13.

After Alex Ramon got a layup on a feed from Ethan Jacobs, who was held scoreless on the night, Cancer and Wil Bathurst hit consecutive 3-pointers to nearly cut the deficit in half. Bathurst hit a free throw, followed by two more from Cancer and a Darryl Smith putback and all of a sudden the 11-0 run had Newman Arena rocking.

Tillotson hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock on Colgate's ensuing possession despite a good Cornell defensive stand, but instead of deflating the Big Red, Cherry answered on the other end by getting into the lane and finishing to make it 46-43.

From there, the Big Red would seize control.

The 11-0 run was extended to 19-3 after consecutive free throws by Miller and Hatter and a steal by Bathurst that led to a run-out by Cherry. All of a sudden, Cornell led 49-46 and Colgate had hit just one field goal in nearly seven minutes.

Damon Sherman-Newsome momentarily got Colgate back within a point on his drive to the buck, but Cherry again bulled his way into the lane and earned two free throws, hitting one. After consecutive Big Red defensive stops, Miller hit a tough pull-up jumper to extend the lead to four with 1:15 left, then Cancer hit a free throw to making it a five-point game. The visitors wouldn't get the ball back within a possession the rest of the way and the Big Red, who opened the game 2-of-10 from the free-throw line, hit 3-of-4 in the final seven seconds to seal the win. After the tough start from the charity stripe, Cornell settled in to hit 12 of its final 18.

Cornell will open play at the 2014 Gildan Charleston Classic on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. when it meets South Carolina at TD Arena.