ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team made 16 3-pointers and led nearly wire-to-wire in a 93-80 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday afternoon in a Thanksgiving-eve matinee. The Big Red improved to 5-1 on the season while the Red Flash fell to 1-3.

Coming just an hour after a 3-point buzzer-beater by the women's Shannon Mulroy to win the first game of a doubleheader, Cornell made 10 in the first 20 minutes and ended the afternoon with the third-most in a single game in school history. Sophomore Keller Boothby hit a career-high five from downtown and Sarju Patel connected on three as Cornell hit 46 percent from beyond the arc.

Freshman guard Nazir Williams had a game-high 21 points with three assists in just 19 minutes of action, while Boothby had 17 points and seven rebounds. They were joined in double figures by Patel and Jordan Jones, who each had 11. Kobe Dickson matched Boothby's game-high seven boards and the Big Red held a 39-37 edge on the glass, while Dean Noll had a team-best five assists among 25 total helpers for the home team. The 25 assists rank seventh all-time in a game at Cornell. The Cornell bench outscored the Red Flash reserves 61-28 in the win.

The victory helped Cornell improve to 5-1 in a season for the first time since 1967 and moved the Big Red into the lead in the all-time series with Saint Francis (5-4). The team also remained unbeaten at home, moving to 3-0 for the first time since 2017. 

Ronell GIles Jr. had 19 points and six rebounds to go along with five steals, while Josh Cohen posted 18 points and seven rebounds and Marlon Hagis netted 17 off the bench. The Red Flash committed just 11 turnovers against Cornell's pressure and had 11 steals themselves.
 

First Half

• Cornell made 10 first half 3-pointers and trailed just twice (2-0 and 4-2) for a total of 27 seconds.
• A Sarju Patel 3-pointer 72 seconds into the game put the home team into the lead for good.
• A 17-4 Big Red run turned a close game into a 19-point bulge as Keller Boothby and Guy Ragland each hit consecutive 3-pointers to put Cornell in the driver's seat.
• The lead grew to as many as 20 when freshman Chris Cain canned a trey with 32 seconds left before halftime to cap Cornell's scoring to go into the break up 47-32.
• Boothby's three 3-pointers led the way with nine points as the Big Red had 10 different players score and 10 players credited with at least one assist in the first 20 minutes.
 

Second Half

• A quick surge prior to the first media timeout extended the Big Red lead to 21 when Nazir Williams completed a personal 5-0 run with a three-point play and a driving layup to make it 59-38.
• The Red Flash hung around from there, getting within 10 with 10 minutes remaining and again with just under four minutes to play.
• Cornell kept the visitors at arm's length, answering every time it appeared to lose some momentum.
• Williams scored 16 points with two assists and a blocked shot after halftime as Cornell cruised.
 

Up Next

• The Big Red will visit Canisius in a post-Thanksgiving matchup on Monday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Koessler Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 26-18, though the Golden Griffins have won won four of the past five.
• Included was an 87-62 Canisius victory in the last meeting between the teams on Nov 21,  2015 at the Koessler Center.
• The last Big Red win came a year prior, a 67-60 Cornell victory in Ithaca, and its last win over the Golden Griffs came on Dec. 2, 1987 — a 94-89 victory.