BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Canisius broke open a tight game after halftime, handing head coach Jim Baron his 450th career win with an 87-62 victory over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at the Koessler Center. The Golden Griffins improved to 2-1 on the year, while the Big Red slipped to 2-2.

The Big Red backcort of Matt Morgan and Robert Hatter each had 12 points and two assists but combined for just 8-of-21 shooting. Darryl Smith added eight points and David Onuorah had five points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.

The home team outscored the Big Red 51-29 after halftime and had decided edges in scoring in the paint (40-18) and off turnovers (26-8). In a battle between two of the nation's highest scoring teams, it was the Canisius defense that made the difference, limiting the Big Red to 35 percent shooting for the game and 31 percent from the floor after halftime.

A 14-3 Canisius run after Cornell got within 43-40 three minutes into the second half sunk the Big Red. The lead reached 20 points before both teams emptied the benches with two minutes remaining.

Canisius put five players in double figures, including 16 points from Malcolm McMillan, who entered the game second nationally in scoring at 32.0 ppg.Phil Valenti added 15 points and five rebounds, Kevin Bleeker had 14 points and eight rebounds, Kassius Robertson scored 11 and Chris Atkinson had 10.

The Golden Griffins jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Cornell finall got on the board just shy of four minutes in when Morgan hit a 3-pointer. Canisius led by as many as 10 before a late Big Red run sent the visitors into halftime trailing just 36-33.

Cornell came out of the gates after the break with five straight points on layups by Morgan and Smith sandwiched around an Onuorah free throw to take its first and only lead at 38-36 a minute into the second half. A Kevin Bleeker dunk on the ensuing possession triggered a 21-4 run that turned a two-point Big Red lead into a 15-point deficit with 13 minutes remaining. Cornell never got the lead to single digits the rest of the way.

Next Up
• The Big Red returns home to play its annual Division III game against Penn State-Harrisburg at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23 in Newman Arena.
• The contest will be part of a doubleheader, as the women will face Saint Francis (Pa.) at 6 p.m.