NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team had plenty to overcome to pick up its first Ivy League win under head coach Brian Earl. Without four-year starter and 1,000-point scorer Robert Hatter, despite 22 turnovers (15 in the first half) and a deficit on the road with under four minutes to go, the Big Red was resilient enough to hand Columbia a 67-62 loss on Saturday evening at Levien Gymnasium.

The Big Red turned to its defense, and it served them well. It held Columbia to just 1-of-12 and 2-of-17 shooting to start the game and held the Lions to 31 percent shooting from the floor, a season low by an opponent. Along with a balanced offense and clutch free-throw shooting in the final minutes, Cornell was able to avenge last weekend's shootout win by the Lions.

The Big Red evened its Ivy record at 1-1 (5-12 overall), while the Lions slipped to 7-8 overall (1-1 Ivy).

Sophomore Matt Morgan had 17 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals to lead the Big Red offense, but it was Wil Bathurst's 12 points and six rebounds that sparked Cornell late. Bathurst put Cornell into the lead for good with a runner with three minutes remaining, then knocked out two free throws with 14 seconds left after he rebounded a Columbia miss on a game-tying 3-point attempt. Troy Whiteside and Stone Gettings rounded out four double figure scorers with 13 points each.

Against a Lions team that dominated the paint and shot 50 percent from the field last weekend in Ithaca, the Big Red was locked in from the beginning. The visitors jumped out to a 10-2 lead and had a 41-39 edge on the glass against the bigger Lions.

Mike Smith had a game-high 24 points for Columbia, though it came on 8-of-21 shooting.Nate Hickman added 13 points, but the Big Red harassed Luke Petrasek into 3-of-12 shooting (0-for-6 from 3-point range) and eight points after going 11-of-14 from the floor for 31 points in the Columbia win the prior weekend.

In a game that featured 15 lead changes, the Big Red closed strong.

After Smith put Columbia into the lead at 55-54 with 3:36 left after hitting the second of two free throws, Bathurst hit a runner off the dribble with eight seconds remaining on the shot clock. That came after Jack Gordon, who played key minutes off the bench, rescued a possession with an offensive rebound. A stop of the Lions on the other end turned into Gordon finding a wide open Morgan in the corner for a 3-pointer to make it a four-point Cornell lead with just over a minute and a half left.

Once it had the lead, it hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final 64 seconds to seal the deal, though the Lions had one last shot.

Cornell led by six with 46 seconds left, but a driving basket by the Lions, a free throw miss by Cornell and a basket by Petrasek made it a three-point game with half a minute. Cornell turned the ball over in the backcourt and Petrasek squeezed off a 3-point attempt that went long and was rebounded by Bathurst, who was immediately fouled. The junior hit both shots to cap the scoring and the win.

NOTES TO KNOW:
• Cornell last won a game with 22 or more turnovers on Nov. 26, 2014 when it overcome 23 miscues in a 67-60 win over Canisius.
• The win was the 100th by the Big Red against the Lions , making three opponents Cornell has defeated at least 100 times (Yale -110, Dartmouth - 106).
• The Big Red has had at least three double figure scorers in 15 of the season's first 17 contests.
• Sophomore Matt Morgan recorded 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocked shots, becoming the first Cornell player in school history to hit that lineor better in school history.

NEXT UP:
• The Big Red continues a string that includes four of its first five Ivy League games at home when Harvard (Friday, Jan. 27) and Dartmouth (Saturday, Jan. 28) visit Newman Arena next weekend.
• Both games will tip at 6 p.m. and will be televised by the Ivy League Digital Network, with the Dartmouth game simulcast on ESPN3.