ITHACA, N.Y. -- Freshman Matt Morgan continued his torrid scoring pace with 26 points, but Columbia drained 13 3-pointers and held off Cornell 79-68 on Saturday evening at Newman Arena. The Lions imprpved to 13-6 (2-0 Ivy) in completing the home-and-home sweep, while the Big Red fell to 7-9 (0-2).

In addition to his 26 points, Morgan handed out four assists, grabbed three rebounds, had one steal and blocked one shot. David Onuorah was the only other Big Red player to reach double-digits with 10 points on a 5-of-7 performance, to go along with eight rebounds, one block, one steal, and one assist. Freshman Troy Whiteside also scored eight points.

The Lions connected on 13-of-24 shots from beyond the arc, with both Maodo Lo and Luke Petrasek going 4-of-6 from deep. The Lions got 18 points from Lo, 16 points and eight rebounds from Petrasek and 11 each from Grant Mullins and CJ Davis. The Lions shot 50 percent overall and 54 percent from 3-point range while assisting on 16 of its 25 baskets.

The veteran Lions maintained a lead throughout the second half after taking a three-point lead (36-33 into the break). Columbia pushed the lead into double figures a number of times, with the Big Red answering back. A lead that was up to as much as 13 was cut to seven in the final 90 seconds, and Morgan got a shot that cut cut it to four on the ensuing possession, but the ball rimmed out and Columbia was able to take home the triumph.

The first half was back and forth throughout, as the Big Red sped up the pace early despite missing Ivy leading scorer Robert Hatter for the second straight game. Cornell got off to a flying start, as Onuorah connected with Morgan for an alley-oop, the freshman's first career dunk. Cornell led by as many as five at 17-12 after a pair of Joel Davis free throws, but Columbia answered with a 9-0 run to take the lead. The Big Red took that punch and hit right back, as a pair of Whiteside baskets sandwiched around a Darryl Smith driving layup and an Onuorah steal and coast-to-coast dunk gave the Big Red a 29-23 edge with 3:16 left in the half.

Like the veteran team it is, Columbia responded with a 13-2 run, turning the six-point deficit into a five point lead when Lo hit a 3-pointer with a half-minute left. Wil Bathurst hit a late basket to make it a three-point game at the half.

The Lions scored eight points out of the gate to open the second half and never gave up the lead. Cornell scratched and clawed its way back into the game, getting within five points with 13 minutes remaining after the freshman tandem of Morgan (3-pointer) and Whiteside (backdoor layup)  scored on consecutive possessions, then again to seven on a pair of occasions after the Lions built the lead to double figures.

Notes To Know
• In two games without Ivy League leading scorer Robert Hatter, freshman Matt Morgan is averaging 27.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.
• Morgan has posted five 20-point games this season and is averaging 22.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 steals over his last five contests.
• Columbia has now won nine of the last 12 contests against the Big Red after losing 13 of 15.
• The game served as the first Cornell-produced ESPN3 men's basketball broadcast.
• David Onuorah's 10 points was one shut of a career high.
• Freshman Troy Whiteside scored eight points and averaged 9.5 points in the two games against Columbia, his first two career starts.
• Freshman Joel Davis made his first career start and scored six points with three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
• Darryl Smith made both of his field goal chances from the floor, extending his streak to 13 consecutive made field goals over his last four contests.

Next Up
• The Big Red begins a four-game Ivy road swing with a trip to Harvard on Friday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.
• Cornell will visit Dartmouth the following night for a 7 p.m. tip.