ITHACA, N.Y. – Jimmy Boeheim carried the Cornell men's basketball team offensively against Lafayette, pouring in a season-high 27 points, but it was the Leopards who persevered, defeating the Big Red, 62-59, on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y. Cornell dropped to 1-7 on the season while Lafayette improved to 6-2

The Big Red has been plagued by last-minute game-winning shots this season, and that was the case again on Saturday. With the game all knotted up at 59-59, Lafayette's Myles Cherry came up big for the Leopards, draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key with just three seconds remaining on the clock to give Lafayette a 62-59 lead. Cornell would get a shot off in the closing seconds, but it was off the mark, and the Leopards prevailed.

Boeheim single-handedly kept the Big Red in the game, scoring nearly half of Cornell's 59 points, including 18 of the team's 31 after halftime. Boeheim finished the game shooting 13-of-22 from the floor en route to his 27 points, adding eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Freshman Jordan Jones also notched double-figures on Saturday, tallying 11 points and four rebounds. Junior Bryan Knapp notched seven points, five rebounds and two steals while limiting Lafayette's leading scorer, Justin Jaworski to 10 points, 11 under his season average entering the game.

Cornell kept itself in a position to win the game throughout the contest by taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over just three times while forcing 14 Lafayette miscues. The Big Red capitalized by scoring 16 points off of Lafayette's turnovers.

Despite the limited turnovers, the Big Red struggled to shoot the ball from behind the arc, and it proved costly. Cornell only connected on 3-of-21 shots from beyond the arc. The Leopards knocked down seven 3-point baskets, and that proved to be the difference right down to the final seconds of the game. Lafayette's depth also hurt Cornell, as the Leopard's bench outscored the Big Red reserves, 20-6.

First Half

• The team played a back-and-forth first half with neither team leading by more than four points as the Leopards went into the break up 31-28.
• Cornell turned the ball over just once in the first 20 minutes and stayed in the contest despite shooting just 28 percent overall and 18 percent from 3-point range.
• Both Boeheim and Jones scored nine points to lead the Big Red, while Jaworski had all 10 of his points for Lafayette.
• Featuring seven ties and 12 lead changes, the Cornell tied the game with a minute remaining on a pair of Dean Noll free throws, but the Leopards' Isaac Suffren drained a corner 3-pointer to sent the visitors into the locker room with the lead.
 

Second Half

• Cornell scored the first four of the second half to regain the lead and the teams couldn't separate themselves by more than a single point until a Knapp jumper gave the home team a 38-35 lead just just over 15 minutes remaining.
• The triggered a 10-0 Lafayette run that turned the three-point deficit into a seven-point lead (45-38) with five points by Tyrone Perry leading the charge.
• The Big Red spent most of the next eight minutes chipping away, finally going back into the lead with five minutes to play on a Boeheim runner, giving him 23 points on the day.
• Both teams responded in the final four minutes with big plays on both ends oif the court.
• Knapp's 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining put Cornell ahead 55-52, but Perry answered with a trey of his own to knot the score.
• Boeheim found Josh Warren underneath and the senior converted to make it 57-55 Big Red with 88 seconds remaining.
• Four straight for Lafayette made it 59-57 after a Cherry layup with 35 seconds left pushed the advantage to two.
• Needing a basket, McBride found Boeheim underneath for a tough basket to tie the game at 59-59.
• Taking over in the final seconds, Jaworski drove and kicked it to Cherry at the top of the key and the senior connected on his sixth trey of the year (on eight attempts) with 3.2 seconds left.
• Cornell called a timeout with 1.2 seconds left after advancing the ball to midcourt and the inbounds play got Jordan Jones the ball for a last-second 3-point attempt to tie, but his shot was short at the buzzer.

Next Up

• Cornell will visit reigning Patriot League champion Colgate when the Central New York rivals meet on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at Cotterell Court in Hamilton, N.Y.
• The Big Red leads the all-time series 73-57 in 130 previous meetings.
• The Raiders have won three straight, including a 73-57 victory last November in Ithaca.
• Colgate has a 30-27 lead in games played in Hamilton.