ITHACA, N.Y. -- In a game that was always bound to come down to the final shot, junior Matt Morgan's game-tying 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer and Niagara escaped Newman Arena with an 89-86 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Big Red head into a short holiday break at 5-5, while the Purple Eagles improved to 7-6 entering Metro Athletic Association Conference play.

Morgan was sensational, as was classmate Stone Gettings, as the duo became the first Big Red duo since 1956 to both hit 30 points in the same game. Morgan posted his fourth career 30-point game with 33 to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Gettings netted a career-high 30 points, including 22 in the second half, and chipped in 11 rebounds, five assists and just one turnover in picking up his second career double-double. The last time the Big Red had a pair of 30-point scorers in the same game was 1956 when Cornell Athletics Hall of Famers Bo Roberson (31) and Chuck Rolles (30) each hit the milestone at Penn. For Morgan, it was his ninth straight game of at least 20 points, continuing to build on his own school record.

Niagara's tandem of Kahlil Dukes (28 points) and Matt Scott (23 points, 11 rebounds), the highest scoring duo in Division I entering the game, were up to the task and were joined by two other double figure scorers in Marvin Prochet (17 points, 12 rebounds) and James Towns (10 points). The Purple Eagles led by as many as 15 points in the second half before the Big Red clawed back into the game.

Trailing 53-38 early in the second half, Cornell got back within five, saw the Purple Eagles lead balloon back to 12, cut it to two then fall back to 11 in a game of runs. Down 79-68 with 6:40 to play, Gettings took over. The junior scored 12 points in the following 3:23, with his layup with 2:56 remaining getting the home team withing 83-32. It was stil la one-point game after Morgan canned a 3-pointer, his sixth of the game, with 11 seconds left. After a Niagara timeout, the Purple Eagles found Matt Scott deep for a layup on the inbounds to push it back to three, and the Big Red had one more shot to tie. Morgan's 3-pointer rimmed out, and Niagara was able to win the first meeting between the programs in nearly a quarter-century.

The Big Red led much of the first 12 minutes of the contest, leaping out to an early nine-point lead (15-6) before Niagara closed strong, taking the advantage and extending it to 11 by halftime (49-38). The Purple Eagles went on a 20-4 run, forcing the Big Red to miss eight of its final 10 shots with five turnovers, in the final 7:06. The visitors, meanwhile, turned the ball over just three times and outscored the Big Red 14-6 after miscues. The tandem of Dukes (18) and Scott (13) combined for 31 points, while Morgan had 15 points and four boards to lead the Big Red over the first 20 minutes.

Notes to Know
• Matt Morgan's 33 points were one off his career high and allowed him to to jump from 12th to eighth on the Cornell all-time scoring list with 1,260 points, surpassing Cody Toppert '05 (1,232), former teammate Robert Hatter '17 (1,241), Chuck Rolles '56 (1,253) and Shawn Maharaj '92 (1,258).
• Morgan had his 33rd consecutive game reaching double figures in scoring (one off the school record) and posted his ninth straight 20-point game.
• Morgan has led the team in scoring in all 10 contests this season.
• Morgan moved into the top top all-time in field goals (17th, 409) and free throws (20th, 250) made in a career
• Stone Gettings had his first career 30-point game, surpassing his previous career high in scoring (28) set last season against Yale.
• Gettings and Morgan became just the second set of Big Red teammates to reach 30 points in the same game, joining Bo Roberson (31) and Chuck Rolles (30) at Penn on March 2, 1956 - a span of 1,611 games.
• Junior Jack Gordon's career-best 10 rebounds obliterated his previous career best of four.
• With Gordon and Gettings each registering double digit rebounds, the juniors became the first Big Red teammates to accomplish that feat since Louis Dale '10 (11) and Jeff Foote '10 (10) did so against Dartmouth during the 2007-08 campaign.
• Junior Steven Julian had four blocks, his third straight game with at least three.
• Freshman Bryan Knapp, who scored just two points in the team's first seven games combined, is now averaging 5.3 points per game over his last three after scoring five off the bench.
• The Big Red played without its two starting point guards - Wil Bathurst and Terrance McBride - due to injury.
• The Purple Eagles have won three straight in the series and cut Cornell's lead to 27-21 overall.

Next Up
• After a short holiday break, Cornell returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 28 when it visits Delaware at 2 p.m., then heads to Auburn on Saturday, Dec. 30 for a 3:30 p.m. matchup.
• The Big Red is 1-1 all-time against Delaware, winning at home in 2010-11 and falling on the road in 2011-12.
• It will be the first-ever meeting against Auburn on the hardwood.