CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard jumped out to a 12-0 lead and the Crimson defense did the rest in an 85-63 victory over Cornell on Friday evening at Lavietes Pavilion. The Crimson, the preseason favorite to win the conference title, improved to 15-7 (4-3 Ivy), while the Big Red slipped to 5-15 (2-4 Ivy).
Cornell shot just 15 percent in the first half and made just 1-of-12 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes as the home team raced out to a 42-15 edge. The Big Red shot a blistering 62 percent after halftime, but never was able to get back in the game as Harvard hit on 53 percent of its shots overall, including 57 percent after halftime. The Crimson dominated in bench scoring (44-28) and outrebounded Cornell 40-30.
Jimmy Boeheim had a game-high 17 points and added six rebounds, while senior
Noah Gear had 13 on 5-6 shooting in just eight minutes of action. He entered the night with two career points and added three rebounds and an assist in the loss.
Riley Voss notched eight points and
Dean Noll scored seven. The Big Red turned the ball over just 10 times.
Harvard had four players reach double figures with Chris Ledlum posting a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double in just 17 minutes of action. Chris Lewis and Danilo Djericic scored 13 apiece and Noah Kirkwood added 10 in the win.
FIrst Half
• Harvard scored the game's first 12 points, keeping the Big Red without a field goal for the first 6:40 before Boeheim tipped in his own miss to make it 14-3.
• The visitors found some equilibrium, trailing 24-11 after two free throws by Boeheim with 7:52 remaining.
• The Crimson finished strong, outscoring the Big Red 18-4 the rest of the way to go into the break up 42-15.
• The 15 points was the fewest in a half by the Big Red since scoring just 14 first half points at Penn in 2017.
• Boeheim scored 12 of the team's 15 points and added four of the squad's 14 rebounds.
Second Half
• The Big Red started the second half with a layup on a give-and-go less than 10 seconds into the second half, then hit consecutive 3-pointers by Riley Voss and Terrance McBride.
• The lead got down to 21 from 30, forcing a Crimson timeout, but the home team never let it get closer in crunch time.
• Harvard led by 34 points with four minutes to play, but Gear scored nine points late to get the Big Red within 22 at the final horn..
Next Up
• The Big Red will close out its weekend Ivy road trip when it visits Dartmouth on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 112-106, including winning 26 of the last 32 contests overall and six in a row.
• The Big Red's Senior Day win over the Big Green last March sealed Cornell's first .500 Ivy season since the 2010 Ivy championship team.
