ITHACA, N.Y. -- Yale's balanced offense and blazing shooting in the second half allowed the Bulldogs to top Cornell 88-64 on on Friday evening at Newman Arena. The Bulldogs (21-6, 12-1 Ivy) clinched a share of its second straight Ivy title with a win and Harvard's 73-71 win over Princeton, while the Big Red dropped its ninth straight (9-18, 2-11). The visitors shot 54 percent from the floor for the night and placed six in double figures.

Yale won its 16th game in 17 starts by hitting 11-of-23 treys and shooting 69 percent after halftime after entering the break with an 18-point lead. Six Bulldogs scored in double figures, not including reigning Player of the Year Justin Sears (five points, 10 rebounds, four assists). Brandon Sherrod hit all six of his field goals on the way to a game-high 18 points, with Khaliq Ghani and Makai Mason chipping in 12 points apiece. Anthony Dallier had 11 and both Alex Copeland and Sam Downey scored 10.

Matt Morgan had 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Big Red, while Darryl Smith hit all five of his field goals en route to 11 points. Cornell shot 43 percent from the floor as a team, but conencted on just 3-of-18 3-pointers on the night and was outrebounded 39-26. Robert Hatter chipped in nine points, as did senior Robert Mischler. 

Cornell played a spirited first 12 minutes and trailed just 22-20 after a run-out layup by Mischler with 7:32 to play to cap a 6-0 Big Red run. That came after a personal 8-0 spurt by Morgan, including two difficult three-point plays in transition by the freshman. The home team getting back within two points triggered a final 18-2 run that turned a nailbiter into a runaway. Less than two minutes into the second half, the lead grew to 23 and peaked at 30 (85-55) with more than three minutes to play.

The Big Red couldn't make a late run to get back in the game despite shooting 50 percent from the floor after halftime. Yale was able to celebrate the win, but it was muted compared to what would happen 75 minutes later when the Tigers missed a pair of layups in the final seconds to try and tie Harvard in Cambridge. A win on Saturday evening at Columbia would give the Bulldogs its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1962.

NOTES TO KNOW
• With 12 points, freshman Matt Morgan moved within 15 points of becoming the first Ivy League freshman to post 500 points in a single season.
• His 485 points ranks 11th on Cornell's single-season scoring list.
• Junior Darryl Smith hit all five of his field goals to improve his field goal percentage to .650, a mark that would set a single-season school record.
• With four blocked shots, Cornell surpassed 100 as a team for the season for just the ninth time in program history.
• With junior Robert Hatter's nine points, he moved within two of 900 for his career.
• The Big Red shot a season-high .917 from the free-throw line (11-of-12).
• Sophomore Wil Bathurst hit a pair of second half 3-pointers and Robert Mischler added another as Cornell connected on a 3-pointer in its 771st straight game.

NEXT UP
• Cornell will honor senior Robert Mischler prior to Saturday's season finale against Brown, with tip set for 6 p.m. at Newman Arena.