ITHACA, N.Y. -- Senior Matt Morgan had 31 points and the Cornell defense, spearheaded by seniors Steven Julian and Joel Davis, held Harvard to below 30 percent shooting to top the Crimson 72-59 on Friday evening at Newman Arena. Despite the Big Red's first season sweep of the Crimson since the 2009-10 season, the Big Red was eliminated from contention for the fourth seed in the Ivy Tournament due to wins by Brown and Penn on the day. Cornell improved to 14-15 (6-7 Ivy) with the win.

Morgan's 31-point night, including 22 after halftime, pushed him over 2,300 career points. He reached double figures for the 70th consecutive game, the 12th-longest streak in NCAA history. In the process, he became the seventh Ivy League player to surpass 500 career free throws with his 8-of-9 night. Morgan also broke his own single-season Cornell scoring record and enters the regular season finale with 654 points (630 points in 2017-180. He was the lone Cornell player in double figures, but far from the only key contributor.

Julian, Davis and sophomore Terrance McBride keyed a defensive effort that held Harvard to 23 percent shooting after the break and to 29 percent from the 3-point arc. Julian had eight points, 14 rebounds, three steals, two assists and a blocked shot, while McBride chipped in nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Josh Warren had eight points and Davis and Jimmy Boeheim scored six to go along with five rebounds each.

Bryce Aiken had 17 points, Christian Juzang notched 15 and Noah Kirkwood scored 12 with nine rebounds in the loss for the Crimson.

The teams were tied 29-29 at the break after a nip-and-tuck first half that saw neither team lead by more than four points.The home team scored the first eight points after the break on a pair of 3-pointers by Morgan and a driving basket by Davis, though the Crimson clawed back to take a 44-41 lead after the Big Red was called for an intentional foul with 12:45 left, resulting in a free throw for the visitors. Cornell regain the lead on a ferocious dunk by Julian, followed by a pair of free throws by Morgan and a layup by Warren on a nifty feed from the senior. Morgan connected on a pair of 3-pointers a little more than a minute apart late in the contest, the second putting the home team up by 11 with 2:09 left. The lead crept to 16 in the final minute with Cornell icing the game away at the line.

NOTES TO KNOW
• Cornell has matched last season's Ivy win total (six).
• The 14 wins overall is the most by a Big Red team in a season since the 2009-10 team won a record 29 contests.
• The Big Red snapped a five-game losing skid and improved to 12-12 in its last 24 Ivy contests.
• Cornell is now 5-0 this season when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting (12-2 in three years under head coach Brian Earl).
• With three assists, Matt Morgan moved to ninth on the school's all-time list (285), matching John Bajusz '87.
• Morgan's five 3-pointers on the year give him 100 in 2018-19, joining Ryan Wittman as the lone Cornell players to hit the century mark in a season (109 in 2009-10).
• It was Morgan's 13th career 30-point game and sixth this season.
• Steven Julian's 14 rebounds were one off a career high.
• Despite the win, Cornell was eliminated from the possibility of reaching the Ivy Tournament.. A victory tomorrow over Dartmouth would make Cornell 7-7, and Brown (7-6) and Penn (6-7) play each other tomorrow. A win by Brown would make it 8-6, one game clear of the Big Red. A win by Penn in that scenario would force a three-way 7-7 tie, with Penn 3-1 against its opponents based on a sweep of Brown and a split with Cornell. The Big Redd would be 2-2 (split with both teams) and the Bears would be 1-3 (split with Cornell, sweep at the hands of Penn), advancing the Quakers.

NEXT UP
• The Big Red will close out the regular season and celebrate Senior Day when it welcomes Dartmouth to Newman Arena on Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m. in Newman Arena.
• Prior to the game, Cornell will honor seniors Joel Davis, Jack Gordon, Steven Julian, Matt Morgan and Troy Whiteside.