ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell scored the first seven points in overtime and held on for a 70-66 win over Brown on Friday evening at Newman Arena, keeping pace with Harvard for second place in the Ivy League with the victory. The Big Red improved to 13-10 (5-2 Ivy), while the Bears fell to 14-9 (2-5 Ivy) with the loss.

Sophomore Jimmy Boeheim scored 21 points to lead three double figure scorers, with Josh Warren (18 points, five rebounds) and Matt Morgan (15 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocked shots) joining him. The Big Red forced the Bears to shoot 43 percent for the game, including 36 percent after halftime and 0-for-9 from beyond the arc while forcing 20 turnovers. Steven Julian was credited with five points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots, classmate Jack Gordon notched four points, four rebounds and four assists and Terrance McBride scored five points with five boards and two assists - with all three contributing a great deal on the defensive side. That allowed the home team to rally from a 13-point deficit in the first half in collecting its sixth win in its last seven home contests.

Brown had four in double figures, with Obi Okolie posting 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the way. Tamenang Choh had a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists and George Mawanda-Kalema scored 14 points off the bench. Leading scorer Desmond Cambridge had 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting and made just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.

The Big Red left the door wide open with a slow start, missing its first five shots and trailing 26-13 with six minutes to play in the first half. Cornell kept playing, ending the half on a 7-0 run to make it a four-point game at the break, 31-27. Despite a tough day from the free-throw line (13-of-24, 54 percent) and 17 turnovers of its own, Cornell kept it close enough to strike after the break.

After an initial surge allowed Brown to extend its lead back to nine (39-30), Cornell scored nine straight - including the first two buckets of the day by Morgan - to even the score, the first tie since 2-2 in the opening minutes. The home team took its first lead on a Boeheim layup on a nifty feed from Jack Gordon, then Warren hit a 3-pointer on the next possession after Brown knotted the score again. In all, seven times during the final 13 minutes the game was tied, including three times in the final three minutes of regulation. Warren scored on a drop-off feed from Terrance McBride with 63 ticks left, but Brown's Mawanda-Kalema was fouled on the other end and connected on both charity shots. A Big Red turnover allowed the Bears to hold for the last shot, but Cambridge's jumper was off and the Big Red rebounded to set up the extra session. 

Morgan found Warren for a layup, followed by a tough Boeheim basket in the lane and a deep 3-pointer by Morgan to put Cornell up 67-60 and forcing a Bears' timeout with 2:18 to play. Brown scored six consecutive to get within one and tried to foul in the backcourt, but Cornell beat the pressure and got a layup by McBride with 11 seconds left. The Bears ran the ball upcourt and called timeout to look for a tying score, but Julian intercepted the inbounds pass and got it to Morgan, who was fouled. The 83 percent career free throw shooter missed both shots and Brown rebounded with five seconds left, but immediately turnover it over and the Big Red hit the first free throw to clinch the win and cap the scoring.

NOTES TO KNOW
• Cornell improved to 7-2 in its last nine matches since moving senior Joel Davis and sophomore Jimmy Boeheim into the starting lineup.
• The Big Red is now 11-7 in its last 18 regular season Ivy contests.
• Morgan extended his streak of consecutive double figure games to 74, tied for 18th in NCAA history.
• Morgan moved to ninth on the Ivy League's list for career field goals made (695) and is now just one shot of Ryan Wittman's school record of 696.
• He became the first Cornell player to surpass 1,000 career points in Ivy League games, ending the night with 1,001 in his four seasons.
• With his six rebounds, Steven Julian surpassed 800 for his college career when counting his two seasons of junior college.
• It was the first time the Big Red had played in overtime in consecutive home games since topping Lehigh (81-79) and Albany (85-82) in consecutive contests in December 2011.
• The 5-2 Ivy record is the program's best after seven games since the 2009-10 campaign (6-1).

NEXT UP
• The Big Red will welcome Ivy favorite Yale on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• Cornell will attempt to snap an 11-game losing skid against the Bulldogs dating back to the 2012-13 season and pick up its first win over Yale in Ithaca since 2011-12.