ITHACA, N.Y. -- Juniors Matt Morgan (29) and Stone Gettings (25) combined for 54 points and Cornell picked up its first Ivy League win of the season thanks to a big second half to collect an 82-81 win over Columbia on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 7-10 (1-3 Ivy), while the Lions fell to 4-13 (1-3 Ivy).

Cornell shot 63 percent in the second half and made 19-of-21 free throws, most down the stretch, to hold off the Lions and knot the season series. Morgan was an efficient 8-of-11 from the floor, made all four 3-pointers and hit 9-of-10 free throws to go along with five assists, while Gettings added seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Morgan reached double figures in scoring for the 40th straight contest and moved into fifth on the school's career scoring list (1,418 points) in the process.

While the duo put together a big offensive effort, it was a total team win. The Big Red limited the Lions to 39 percent shooting in the second half, including 1-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc before the visitors nailed a pair of long distance desperation shots in the final six seconds of play. A week ago, Columbia connected on a school-record 16 treys in an 88-62 victory.

Trailing 39-35 at the half, the Big Red stormed ahead, taking the lead for good on a Jimmy Boeheim corner 3-pointer with 7:20 left. Though Cornell wouldn't trail the rest of the way, there were plenty of tense moments. Columbia had five opportunities to tie or take the lead, and Cornell was able to get stops when it needed to. Leading by five with eight seconds to play, The Lions' Gabe Stefanini hit a pair of long 3-pointers sandwiched around two clutch free throws by Morgan to send the Big Red to its first league win. In all, Cornell was 13-of-14 from the line in the final 5:24, keeping the home team ahead and denying any Columbia runs.

Josh Warren had six points and eight rebounds, one off a career high, while Boeheim had six points and two boards, including a key three-point play on an offensive putback that gave Cornell a lead and an energy boost midway through the second half. Steven Julian had eight points and provided great defense, including a block and a steal. The home team had 19 assists and went 8-of-19 from beyond the arc (42 percent), its 818th consecutive game with a made 3-pointer.

Columbia got 19 points off the bench from Stefanini to lead four double figure scorers. He led a bench effort that outscored Cornell's reserves 39-15. The Lions also outscored the Big Red 43-24 in the paint.

Notes to Know
• Morgan surpassed Ka'Ron Barnes (1,396), Mike Davis (1,400) and Ken Bantum (1,411) on the school's all-time scoring list.
• Morgan became the seventh player in school history to connect on 300 career free throws with his game-clinching shots with three ticks on the clock.
• His 4-of-4 effort from 3-point range is tied for the third-most makes in a game without a miss in school history and tied a school Ivy-best.
• Cornell hit 22-of-25 free throws (88 percent) in the game, including 19-of-21 (.905) in the decisive second half.
• Freshman Terrance McBride tied a career high with five assists.
• The win was Cornell's first when trailing at halftime of an Ivy League game since overcoming a 29-25 margin in a 68-60 victory over Princeton during the 2014-15 campaign.
• The Big Red is now 5-1 at home this season, surpassing last season's win total at Newman Arena (3-8).

Next Up
• After opening the conference season with three straight road games, Cornell will be home for a second straight weekend when it welcomes Dartmouth (Friday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.) and Harvard (Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.) to Newman Arena.
• The contest against the Big Green on Friday will be simulcast on ESPN3 and the Ivy League Network, while Eleven Sports will televised Saturday's matchup against the Crimson with ILN simulcasting the broadcast,