Thanksgiving-Eve Matinee On Tap For Men's Hoops vs. Saint Francis (PA)

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• The Cornell men’s basketball team will head into a short Thanksgiving break on a winning note when it hosts Saint Francis (PA) on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• The game will be the second contest in a doubleheader that will kick off with the women’s team facing Washington State at 1 p.m.
• Barry Leonard and Dave Kudgus will be on the call on the ESPN+ broadcast.
• Cornell’s unbeaten start to the season was halted on Monday when it dropped an 85-74 decision at Penn State.
• The Big Red led with six minutes remaining, but the Nittany Lions closed out the game on a 21-7 run to hand Cornell its first defeat.
• Senior captain Sarju Patel had 15 points, while freshman Nazir Williams (14) and sophomore Chris Manon (12) were also in double figures.
• Cornell, which led Division I in adjusted pace according to KenPom entering the game, had nine steals and outrebounded the bigger Nittany Lions (39-38), but could not overcome a school record 15 3-pointers made by PSU.
• Head coach Brian Earl’s team is 2-0 at home entering its Thanksgiving-eve contest and is looking to be 5-1 or better for the first time since 1967 when it was also 5-1.

ABOUT SAINT FRANCIS (PA)
• The Red Flash are 1-2 on the young season, with losses at George Washington (75-72) and Virginia Tech (85-55) and a blowout victory over Division III Franciscan University (100-54).
• Four players are averaging double figures in a balanced offense, with Myles Thompson leading the way (11.7 ppg., 4.0 rpg.) and Ramiir Dixon-Conover (11.3 ppg., 6.7 rpg., 4.7 apg., 1.7 spg.), Maxwell Land (11.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg.) and Ronell Giles Jr. (10.0 ppg., 3.7 rpg.) not far behind.
• Mark Flagg is the fifth starter and is within shouting distance of averaging a double-double (9.3 ppg., 10.0 rpg., 1.3 bpg.).
• Saint Francis (PA) is outrebounding opponents by 6.3 per game and has held opponents to 40 percent shooting in three contests.
• The Red Flash are hitting just 4.3 3-pointers per game on 26 percent shooting but have made as many free throws (52) as opponents have attempted and are connecting on 71 percent of their charity shots.
• Tenth-year head coach Rob Krimmel sports a 126-151 record with five postseason appearances in his time guiding the Red Flash.

THE SERIES 
Overall: Series tied 4-4, first meeting in 1979-80
In Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell leads 2-1
Current Streak: Saint Francis (PA), 1
Last Meeting: Saint Francis (PA), 72-62 (12/7/2013 in Ithaca, N.Y.)
Earl vs. Saint Francis (PA): First meeting
Series Notes: The Red Flash won three of the first four meetings between the programs, while Cornell has won three of the last four • two of the meetings between the programs have come at neutral sites • Cornell is 10-11 all-time against Northeast Conference opponents • the Big Red holds a 2-1 leads over Bryant and Robert Morris and a 1-0 edge over Wagner • it trails series against LIU Brooklyn (0-2), and St. Francis (N.Y.) • Cornell and Sacred Heart (1-1) are tied • the Big Red has never met Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson or Mount St. Mary’s  • the Big Red will also meet Bryant this season, with that matchup occurring on Dec. 19 in Ithaca.

A WIN OVER SAINT FRANCIS WOULD ... 
• make Cornell 5-1 to start the season.
• give the Big Red a 5-4 lead in the all-time series.
• make the Big Red 3-0 at home to start the year, its first 3-0 start at home to a season since 2017.
• give Cornell a 5-4 lead in the all-time series, including a 4-1 record in the last five meetings.
• even its all-time record against teams from the Northeast Conference at 11-11.
• be the 1,281st in program history (1,279-1,461 in 120 seasons, .467). 

LAST TIME OUT: Penn State 85, Cornell 74
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE
• Penn State hit a program record 15-pointers and erased a late second half deficit with a game-ending 21-7 run to hand Cornell men’s basketball its first loss, an 85-74 decision at the Bryce Jordan Center. 
• Sarju Patel led three Cornell players in double figures in scoring with 15 along with five rebounds, with Nazir Williams adding 14 points and four boards and Chris Manon scored 12 with four rebounds and two steals.
• Kobe Dickson scored eight points with five rebounds and six assists for a Big Red team that had 13 assists and just nine turnovers on the night. 
• The visitors had nine steals and held a narrow 39-38 edge on the glass, including 13 offensive boards. Cornell shot just 38 percent overall and 28 percent (9-of-32) from beyond the arc.
• Seth Lundy had 23 points and seven rebounds and Sam Sessoms recorded 22 points, six rebounds and four assists while making 6-of-7 3-pointers in the win. 
• Sessoms, a Binghamton transfer, hit four in a span of 2:03 late in the first half to turn a 10-point Cornell lead into a halftime advantage for the home team, then connected on two more in the final 5:08 to ultimately put the Big Red away. 
• Jalen Pickett had 15 points and six assists and John Harrar notched seven points, a game-high 12 rebounds and blocked two shots for the Nittany Lions.

NOTES FROM PENN STATE GAME
• Penn State’s record of 15 3-pointers made in a game is tied for the fifth-most in a game by a Big Red opponent with the record being 19 by VMI on Dec. 1, 2006.
• Nazir Williams had career highs of 14 points and four rebounds.
• Sarju Patel’s 15 points and three 3-pointers were both highs in a Cornell uniform.
• Patel had one assist on the evening, giving him six assists and zero turnovers in 104 minutes of action this year.
• Greg Dolan posted a career high with five rebounds.
• Chris Manon had two steals against the Nittany Lions, giving him multiple steals in all five collegiate games.
• Kobe Dickson’s six assists were a career high.
• With its 13 offensive rebounds, the Big Red has now posted 55 in its last three contests (18.3 per game)..

PLAYER NOTES TO KNOW
• After starting out his career 0-for-3 from 3-point range, sophomore Keller Boothby has made 8-of-16 treys over his last four games (.500).
• No Big Red player has recorded more than 30 minutes of playing time this season, with senior captain Kobe Dickson’s 29:53 against Binghamton being the high-water mark.
• Dickson has posted a career-high eight rebounds in three of his last four games and has at least four assists in four of the first five contests with a career high six at Penn State.
• Junior Greg Dolan has nine assists and three turnovers this year.
• Sophomore Isaiah Gray’s assist:turnover ratio is 5:1 (10 assists, two turnovers) over his first five collegiate games, including the first game with six assists and zero turnovers off the bench in the win over Wells since Graham Dow had those same numbers vs. Keuka on Jan. 6, 2006.
• Sophomore Sean Hansen has posted 29 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists in just 60 minutes of play — averages of 19.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per 40 minutes.
• Hansen had 11 rebounds in just 12 minutes of action against Wells, the Big Red’s first double figure rebounding game off the bench since Errick Peck corralled 10 vs. Longwood on Nov. 24, 2012.
• Hansen has eight assists and two turnovers over his last three outings.
• Junior Jordan Jones’ father Max played in the NFL (Buffalo Bills) and the USFL (Birmingham Stallions), while his uncle Sean Jones played in the NFL with the Los Angeles Raiders, Houston Oilers and Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl title in 1997 with the Packers and twice capturing All-Pro honors.
• His 14.0 points come in just 22.6 minutes per game — an average of 24.8 points per 40 minutes. 
• Sophomore Chris Manon has multiple steals in all five collegiate games and at least six rebounds in four contests.
• Senior Dean Noll helped guide Shawnee HS (N.J.), the alma mater of Cornell head coach Brian Earl, to a state title as a senior, earning MVP honors for the championship game. He broke the school’s single-season scoring record with 737 points - besting the previous mark of 675 set by Dan Earl, Brian’s older brother.
• Senior Sarju Patel seat out the 2019-20 season as a transfer and 2020-21 due to the pandemic after averaging 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game at VMI under former Penn State star, Dan Earl.
• Patel’s 3-pointer with 13 seconds left at Lafayette was his first in a collegiate game since March 9, 2019 when he went 1-of-3 against No. 22 Wofford in the Southern Conference Tournament.
• Patel has been credited with six assists and zero turnovers in 104 minutes of action this season.
• Freshman guard Nazir Williams has shot 50 percent better in all five games and is shooting 67 percent (12-of-18) from the floor overall.
• In his last three games, Williams is averaging 13.7 points, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 17.7 minutes per game.

TEAM NOTES TO KNOW
• After the Ivy League didn’t compete during the 2019-20 season, Cornell’s first game against Binghamton, a 76-67 Big Red victory, was its first in 612 days.
• The Big Red features an 18-player roster for sixth-year head coach Brian Earl that includes 11 that had never suited up for Cornell and 10 that had never played a collegiate game prior to Nov. 9.
• No player that had previously suited up for a full season for the Big Red averaged 20 minutes per game. Along with the 11 players that have never played a minute for Cornell, two of the returners combined to play 41 total minutes.
• The Big Red’s home win over Colgate on Nov. 16 was its first contest at Newman Arena since a 67-58 defeat at the hand of Harvard on Feb. 29, 2020 - a span of 627 days.
• In two different games this season, Cornell has limited opponents below 20 percent shooting from beyond the arc in more than 30 attempts - prior to this season it had never happened since the 3-point shot was instituted in Division I in 1986.
• The Big Red’s five-game win streak was its longest since walking off the floor victorious in nine consecutive contests late in 2009-10.
• Its six-game non-conference roll was its longest since winning 10 consecutive during the 2009-10 season when it advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
• Cornell has made at least as many free throws as its opponents have attempted in four of five contests this season and is averaging 23.0 attempts per game.
• Over its last four contests, Cornell is averaging 18.9 assists and has a 1.6 assist:turnover ratio.
• The Big Red has 55 offensive rebounds in its last three games.
• Cornell has held three of its five opponents to under 40 percent shooting, and three foes to sub-33 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
• The Big Red is averaging 36.2 points per game off the bench, including 45.7 over its last three outings.
• Cornell has outscored opponents 89-40 on fastbreak points so far this season.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES TO KNOW
• The Big Red is one the least experienced teams in the country in 2021-22,  bringing back less than a third of its scoring, rebounding and assists from two seasons ago (Cornell and the Ivy League did not compete in 2020-21 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). 
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 892 consecutive games dating back to a contest against Denison in the 1988-89 season opener (0-for-2). Since the 3-point shot came into effect in NCAA play during the 1986-87 season, the Big Red has hit at least one shot behind the arc in 938 of 942 games (6,159 3-pointers over that span).
• In 2019-20, the Big Red lost three games by a single point, five by a single possession, six by four points or less and eight by single digits.
• Brian Earl and his brother Dan (VMI) one of three active sets of brothers directing Division I programs, joining Bobby (Arizona State) and Danny (Connecticut) Hurley and Joe (Boston University) and James (Yale) Jones.
• Ninth-year assistant coach Jon Jaques was a starter and senior captain on the 2009-10 Cornell team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
• Four 2020 Cornell graduates and Big Red starters — Jimmy Boeheim (Syracuse, 14.3 ppg., 6.3 rpg.), Bryan Knapp (George Washington), Terrance McBride (Rice, 3.0 ppg., 1.2 rpg., 2.2 apg., 1.0 spg.) and Riley Voss (Wright State, 4.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg., 1.0 apg.) — will play at Division I institutions this winter as grad students.
• Cornell has played in 47 different states, as well as in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Australia, France and Spain. The only states the Big Red has not played in are Alaska, North Dakota and Mississippi.
• The Big Red continues to be ranked among the best according to the annual NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report (APR). The APR measures semester-by-semester records for every individual team in Division I with regard to each team members’ continuing eligibility, retention and progress toward graduation. The NCAA “commends” teams that have APR scores in the top 10 percent within their sport. Cornell has been recognized 10 times in since the APR began in 2005, including seven consecutive (2009-16).
• Dating back to the first overtime game against Penn way back in 1922, Cornell is 41-51 in games that go an extra period. Cornell is 7-10 in multiple overtime games, with the longest game for the Big Red being a five overtime contest against Princeton, won by the Tigers 66-61 on Feb. 24, 1979 at Barton Hall. Cornell is 30-19 in home overtime games, 2-2 in neutral contests and 10-29 in road games.

CAPTAINS 
• A trio of first-year captains will lead the Big Red into the 2021-22 campaign.
• Seniors Kobe Dickson and Sarju Patel and junior Greg Dolan will take primary leadership roles.

Photos by Dave Burbank, Madison Epperson, Eldon Lindsay, Patrick Shanahan and Darl Zehr