LAST TIME OUT: NJIT 59, Cornell 58
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I HIGHLIGHTS
• Shyquan Gibbs’ basket with 0.5 seconds left helped NJIT overcome an 18-point halftime lead and handed Cornell a 59-58 loss at Newman Arena.
• Terrance McBride scored a career-high 17 points and added four assists, two rebounds and three steals and Josh Warren added 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, with both players hitting go-ahead shots for the Big Red in the final 40 seconds.
• The Highlanders answered each time, and Gibbs’ tough driving basket in the final seconds put the visitors ahead for the fifth lead change in a thrilling final minute.
• Dean Noll added nine points and two rebounds and Bryan Knapp had six points and three boards for the home team.
• Cornell held NJIT to 37 percent shooting overall, including 19 percent in a first half that saw the Big Red lead 34-16 at the break.
• Zach Cooks had 22 points and seven rebounds to lead the Highlanders, while Gibbs had nine points and four assists in addition to the game winner.
• Souleymane Diakite notched 10 points and 13 rebounds for the double-double.
NOTES TO KNOW
• Over the last three seasons, Cornell is 17-9 at home (.654).
• Cornell was 6-0 last season and 13-3 in four years under head coach Brian Earl when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting and were 10-2 in 2018-19 and 31-11 overall when outshooting its foe.
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 863 consecutive games (11th-longest streak in Division I) dating back to a contest against Denison in the 1988-89 season opener (0-for-2). Since the 3-point shot came into effect in NCAA play during the 1986-87 season, the Big Red has hit at least one shot behind the arc in 909 of 913 games (5,945 3-pointers over that span).
• The November 5 date vs. Binghamton was the earliest start to a Cornell men’s basketball season in the school’s 121 seasons.
• Cornell had 20 assists and just six turnovers in the win over Binghamton, just the 13th time since 1976 that Cornell had 20 or more assists and single-digit turnovers in a game.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
• This year marks the 10th anniversary of Cornell’s 2009-10 NCAA Sweet 16 team with a reunion planned the weekend of February 7-8.
• The 1987-88 squad that won an Ivy title will also return to campus that weekend to be honored for their achievements.
• Brian Earl and his brother Dan (VMI) one of five active sets of brothers directing Division I programs, joining Scott (Baylor) and Bryce (Vanderbilt) Drew; Bobby (Arizona State) and Danny (Connecticut) Hurley; Joe (Yale) and James (Boston University) Jones; and Sean (Arizona) and Archie (Dayton) Miller.
• Seventh-year assistant coach Jon Jaques was a starter and senior captain on the 2009-10 Cornell team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
• Cornell has played in 47 different states, as well as in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Australia, France and Spain. The only states the Big Red has not played in are Alaska, North Dakota and Mississippi.
• Junior Jimmy Boeheim is the oldest son of Syracuse head men’s basketball coach and Naismith Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim.
• The Big Red ranks among the best according to the annual NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report (APR) for 2017-18 that was released this past May. The APR measures semester-by-semester records for every individual team in Division I with regard to each team members’ continuing eligibility, retention and progress toward graduation. The NCAA “commends” teams that have APR scores in the top 10 percent within their sport. Cornell has been recognized 10 times in the 14 years since the APR began, including seven consecutive.
• The Big Red’s 17-man roster represents 11 states and the District of Columbia.
• Freshman Jordan Jones’ father Max played in the NFL (Buffalo Bills) and the USFL (Birmingham Stallions), while his uncle Sean Jones played in the NFL with the Los Angeles Raiders, Houston Oilers and Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl title in 1997 with the Packers and twice capturing All-Pro honors.
• Sophomore Dean Noll helped guide Shawnee HS (N.J.), the alma mater of Cornell head coach Brian Earl, to a state title as a senior, earning MVP honors for the championship game. He broke the school’s single-season scoring record with 737 points - besting the previous mark of 675 set by Dan Earl, Brian’s older brother.
• Junior Sarju Patel will sit out the 2019-20 season as a transfer after averaging 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game at VMI under head coach Dan Earl.
CAPTAINS
• A trio of first-year captains will lead the Big Red into the 2019-20 campaign.
• Senior Josh Warren and juniors Jimmy Boeheim and Terrance McBride will take the leadership mantle.
NEXT UP
• Cornell will head up I-81 to renew its series with Syracuse on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.
• The Big Red will attempt to snap a 39-game losing streak to the Orange dating back to the 1968-69 campaign.
• Cornell will also be attempting to snap a 34-game losing skid over 68 years against teams from the ACC, with its last victory coming at Wake Forest during the 1951-52 campaign (58-51).
• Cornell junior Jimmy Boeheim will play his hometown team, coached by his father, Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, for the third time.
