NEWARK, N.J. -- Cornell shot 64 percent from the floor and assisted on 20 baskets as the Big Red topped previously unbeaten NJIT 86-73 on Saturday afternoon at the Wellness and Events Center. The Big Red improved to 3-2, while the Highlanders slipped to 4-1. The win also guaranteed Cornell at least a share of the inaugural Central New York Hoops Classic, finishing with a 3-1 record in the event.
Matt Morgan scored 34 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead three double figure scorers.
Jimmy Boeheim added 15 points and six rebounds and
Jack Gordon had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists in the win.
Josh Warren (eight points, six assists),
Terrance McBride (seven points, five assists, four rebounds) and
Steven Julian (four points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots) also had at least three helpers. Cornell led by as many as 21 points midway through the second half and cruised to the win, extending its road win streak to three games for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign. The .640 shooting percentage was the sixth-highest in a single game in school history.
Zach Cooks and Shyquan Gibbs each had 25 points for the Highlanders, but the rest of the team combined for just 23 points on 8-of-26 shooting. Cornell controlled the backboards (32-22) and the paint (40-24) in snapping a two-game skid.
Cornell scored off the tip with McBride finding Morgan for a bucket five seconds in, hit a 3-pointer a minute later and never looked back. The Highlanders had a brief 6-5 lead, but McBride converted a three-point play on the other end and the Big Red never trailed the rest of the way.
Leading 14-10, a
Jack Gordon 3-pointer ignited a 10-1 run that was bookended by a Morgan trey that pushed the lead to double figures. Morgan scored eight straight, including consecutive 3-pointers, and scored on a quick cutter on a feed from
Josh Warren to build the lead to 16 midway through the first half. The Highlanders cut the deficit to six (35-29) late to make Cornell head coach
Brian Earl burn a timeout, but
Jimmy Boeheim drilled a 3-pointer and Morgan hit a pair of free throws after being fouled at the buzzer to send the visitors into the break leading 40-29.
The Highlanders weren't able to cut into the lead much, getting back within 10 several times before the first media timeout, the last time at 45-35. Feeling threatened, Cornell went on an 11-0 run that ended with 3-pointers by Gordon and Morgan to make it a 56-35 Big Red advantage. Every time NJIT hinted at a run, the Big Red beat a defender backdoor for a layup or stepped behind a screen for a well-timed 3-pointer. The 13-point final margin was as close as the game got the rest of the way.
NOTES TO KNOW
•
Matt Morgan extended his streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures to 56.
• It was Morgan's ninth career 30-point game and his second this season.
• With his 34 points, Morgan upped his career scoring total to 1,773, surpassing former Columbia greats Maodo Lo (1,756), Jim McMillian (1,758) and Buck Jenkins (1,767) to move into 10th in the conference's all-time list.
• It is the fourth time Morgan has scored 34 points - tied for the 19th-most in a single game in Cornell history.
• The senior guard also moved to fourth on the school's career field goal list (569), matching the total of Mike Davis '80.
• The Big Red shot exactly 64 percent in both the first and second halves (16-of-25 both times).
• Junior
Steven Julian had a pair of blocked shots, giving him 46 for his two-year career (No. 13 all-time at Cornell).
• Sharing the tournament title gives Cornell its first in-season tourney title since the 2009-10 MSG Holiday Classic.
• Cornell remains unbeaten all-time (3-0) against NJIT.
NEXT UP
• Cornell will visit Connecticut for a pre-Thanksgiving showdown on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
• The two teams have split two previous meetings, though the last came on New Year's Eve in 1964.
• The Big Red's lone win in the series came during the 1943-44 campaign, a 64-35 victory.
