ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team ran out to a 22-point lead in a frenetic first half, improving to 7-1 for the first time in more than 50 years with a 92-77 victory over Coppin State on Friday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red had four scorers in double figures in remaining undefeated at home (4-0), while the Eagles fell to 1-11, including 0-11 on the road to kick off the year.

The Big Red made 17 3-pointers (the third-most in a single game in school history), dished out 26 assists (the third game this year with at least 25) and outrebounded the Eagles 46-35 in continuing its hot start. Cornell shot 51 percent from the floor, 47 percent from beyond the arc and outscored the visitors 46-11 from the bench.

Keller Boothby had a career-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and added six rebounds. The seven makes is tied for the eighth-most in a single game at Cornell. Jordan Jones added 17 points and four rebounds, Dean Noll had 12 with three assists and Sarju Patel notched 10 with six rebounds as the fourth double figure scorer. It was Kobe Dickson who may have had the biggest impact though, as the senior had four points, nine rebounds, a career-high nine assists and two blocked shots. Greg Dolan chipped in six points, eight rebounds and five assists, Chris Manon was credited with nine points, including a thunderous second half dunk, and Sean Hansen (five points, four assists) and Isaiah Gray (five points, four rebounds) also contributed productive minutes in the victory.

Coppin State got 25 points, four rebounds and three assists from Jesse Zarzuela and 23 more with 12 rebounds from Tyree Corbett. Mike Hood (10 points) was also in double figures, while Nendah Tarke (eight points, 10 rebounds, four steals) narrowly missed a double-double for the defending MEAC regular season champions. Coppin State shot 39 percent from the floor, made 10 3-pointers on 29 percent shooting and turned the ball over just eight times.

First Half

• The Big Red trailed 4-2 in the early going, its first deficit since falling behind Saint Francis (Pa.) 2-0 - nearly 80 minutes of basketball had been played since it trailed on the scoreboard.
• A Greg Dolan steal in the backcourt and a reverse layup made it 27-10. 
• Keller Boothby drained six first half 3-pointers, including three in the span of 2:48, as Cornell extended its lead to 16 (44-28) with four minutes remaining.
• The sophomore's sixth 3-pointer of the half made it 55-35 at the break.
• Cornell assisted on 18 of its 20 first half baskets, shooting 56 percent from the floor and knocking down 13 3-pointers.
 

Second Half

• Coppin State chipped away at the lead before the Big Red ballooned the advantage with 22 (78-56) with 8:20 remaining.
• A backcourt steal by Nazir Williams turned into a fastbreak layup by Dean Noll to highlight the run.
• A 15-2 Eagles run got the visitors back to single digits (80-71) with under five minutes to play, but Jordan Jones hit a trey and pushed the lead back to 12.
• Coppin State never got within 10 the rest of the way.
• After scoring 55 in the first half, Cornell was held to 37 after the break, with Jones netting 10.
• Zarzuela scored 18 in the second half while trying to lead the visitors back, while Tyree Corbett had 14 points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes of action..
• The Big Red closed out the game late to earn its seventh win of the season.

 

Up Next

• Cornell will face Division III Keuka College on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• The two teams have met once previously with the Big Red earning a 78-52 triumph on Jan. 6, 2006 behind 22 points and 14 rebounds from Ryan Rourke.
• Cornell is 7-0 against non-Division I teams during head coach Brian Earl's tenure, including a 107-48 triumph over Wells College on Nov. 19 at Newman Arena.