ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team jumped out to a 20-point lead, staved off a Binghamton rally and then put the Bearcats away for a 94-84 victory on Monday evening in the 2017-18 home opener at Newman Arena. The Big Red evened its record at 1-1, while the Bearcats dropped their first contest to fall to 1-1.
The Big Red's 94 points were the program's most against a Division I team in a regulation game since posting a 96-76 victory over Dartmouth during the 2010-11 season. Cornell shot 49 percent from the floor, 48 percent from the 3-point arc (10-of-21) and 88 percent (30-of-34) from the free-throw line while assisting on 19 of the team's 27 field goals. Four players reached double figures, led by junior
Matt Morgan's 26 points. Morgan added eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in the win. Classmate Steven Julian had his first double-double in a Cornell uniform with 10 points and 11 rebounds,
Stone Gettings scored 16 points with six rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench and
Jack Gordon had 11 points.
It was a full team win, as the Big Red got seven points, three rebounds and three assists from
Wil Bathurst, six points, four rebounds and four assists from freshman Terrance McBride, six points from
Joel Davis and five more from Jimmy Boeheim. Cornell all but squandered a 22-point second half lead (51-29), allowing the Bearcats to get back within two (54-52) with a 23-2 run over the span of 5:38, but the home team steadied the ship and calmly and methodically built the edge back to double figures. Binghamton made a final run back to single digits in the final minute, but Cornell hit 12-of-14 from the line in the final 2:37 to hold off the visitors.
The Bearcats shot 61 percent and scored 55 points after halftime, but its 20-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome. Thomas Bruce scored 28 points and had 11 rebounds to lead four double figure scorers. Fard Muhammad chipped in 18 points, four assists and three rebounds, Timmy Rose had 11 points and six assists and J.C. Show netted 12 points and four boards. The Bearcats led 5-4 after a three-point play by Bruce, but a minute later
Wil Bathurst canned a 3-pointer on a nice find from Boeheim and the Big Red never trailed again.
The Dagger
• Cornell ended the first half on a 19-5 run that extended a six-point edge into a 20-point bulge.
• Jack Gordon hit three 3-pointers in the span of three minutes to go from six to 16.
• Matt Morgan found freshman Jake Kuhn for his first collegiate triple from the right corner, then knocked down a 25-footer at the halftime horn that sent a dejected Binghamton team to the locker room trailing 49-29.
The Comeback
• Binghamton got energized after the break, slicing the lead to nine (53-44) by the first media timeout behind four points from Thomas Bruce and a 3-pointer by Fard Muhammed the big man assisted on.
• Consecutive buckets by J.C. Show, including a 3-pointer, drew the visitors within five, and after a Big Red miss, Timmy Rose converted a conventional three-point play to make it a one-possession game (54-52 with 13:45 to play).
The Dagger, Part II
• Morgan hit a jumper to give Cornell some breathing room, before McBride scored his first four career points on back-to-back possessions, turning in a pair of fastbreak layups, the first after going coast-to-coast on a defensive board.
• A pair of free throws by Julian and consecutive buckets by
Joel Davis stretched the lead back to double figures.
• The Bearcats would only get back within double figures in the final media timeout, but never got closer than eight as the Big Red converted its charity shots.
Notes to Know
• Terrance McBride scored his first six collegiate points and added four rebounds and four assists without a turnover in 25 minutes of action.
•
Matt Morgan tied a career high with eight rebounds and two blocked shots in the win.
• Morgan moved into eighth place on the school's career list for made 3-pointers with 162, matching Ray Mercedes.
• He also reached double figures in scoring for the 25th consecutive time, posting his 24th career game of 20 or more points.
• Junior
Stone Gettings was 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, the eighth-most free throws made in a game without a miss in school history.
• The 10 free throws were also more than he made in 28 games his freshman season. Â
• The team's 30 made free throws is tied for the 16th-most in a single game and is the most since also connecting on 30 against Columbia during the 2008-09 season.
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Next Up
• The Big Red visits Central New York rival Colgate on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 73-55 dating back to the first meeting between the programs during the 1901-02 season.
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