ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell seniors brought the energy and the underclassmen fed off it as the Big Red closed out the regular season by completing a season sweep of Dartmouth with a 66-51 triumph on Saturday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red closed the season with a 15-15 overall mark (7-7 Ivy), posting its most wins and first .500 campaign in nine seasons on East Hill.

A night after closing out a sweep of Ivy champ Harvard, Cornell shot 55 percent in the second half and limited the Big Green to 31 percent shooting itself to outscore Dartmouth 38-22 after the break. A night after missing all 17 3-point attempts at Columbia, the Big Green shot just 1-of-18 from 3-point range and missed its final 17 after opening the game with a Brendan Barry trey. Defense was the calling card all weekend, and Cornell forced 17 Dartmouth turnovers and had seven steals and four blocked shots in the win.

Sophomore Jimmy Boeheim made 9-of-10 field goals, including both 3-point attempts, en route to a game-high 21 points off the bench in support of his senior teammates. The five seniors earned the start after being honored prior to game time. Senior Joel Davis had 11 points, Steven Julian had six points, seven rebounds and three steals and Matt Morgan, the second leading scorer in Ivy League history, had eight points, five assists and four rebounds in his final game on the Newman Arena floor. Jack Gordon hit a key 3-pointer, and Troy Whiteside grabbed the Big Red's final rebound before getting a curtain call with 42 seconds left to the delight of the Big Red crowd.

Cornell came out with great energy, with Julian picking up a steal and then finishing on the receiving end of an alley-oop pass from Joel Davis for the first points of the game. Dartmouth answered with an 11-0 run over the next 5:14, holding the home team scoreless under Boeheim hit a corner 3-pointer on a feed from Morgan. Dartmouth built the lead to eight on a number of occasions, but the Big Red stormed back late to take a 28-27 lead on a basket by Terrance McBride with 26 seconds left. Dartmouth, holding for the last shot of the half, cashed in when James Foye sank a corner jumper at the horn to send the Big Green into the break with a 29-28 lead.

That lead didn't last long in the second half, as layups by Davis and Boeheim, the latter a three-point play, kicked off a 7-0 run that put Cornell into the lead for good. The Big Red stretched the advantage to double figures midway through and never let Dartmouth back within 10, growing the lead to as many as 18 in the final minutes to run away with the victory. Boeheim scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the second half, including seven straight points during one stretch that turned a seven-point advantage to 12. The seniors were all subbed out in the final minute with the game in hand.

NOTES TO KNOW
• Senior Matt Morgan's streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures ended at 80 games, the 12th-longest streak in NCAA history and a Cornell and Ivy League record.
• Morgan ended the night with 2,309 points, 735 field goals made, 1,567 field goals attempted, 877 3-point field goals attempted and 509 free throws made - all Cornell career records.
• He also ended the season with 663 points, breaking his own school record of 630 set last year.
• Morgan had five assists, matching Wallace Prather '02 for eighth on the school's career list with 290.
• Jimmy Boeheim's 9-of-10 shooting performance (.900) is the fifth-best single-game mark in school history.
• With his 86th career block, Steven Julian moved to No. 8 on the school's career list.
• Cornell improved to 6-0 this season and 13-2 under head coach Brian Earl when teams shoot under 40 percent from the floor in a game.
• The Big Red has won six consecutive games against Dartmouth.
• Cornell went 6-0 this season when holding opponents under 60 points.
• The Big Red went 9-4 at home this season.

NEXT UP
• The regular season is complete.