ITHACA, N.Y. -- Jaylan Gainey's tip-in dunk with three seconds left lifted Brown to an 81-80 victory over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena. The Big Red men's basketball team clings to fourth place in the Ancient Eight standings in dropping to 13-8 (5-5 Ivy), while the Bears moved within a game of Cornell in improving to 12-13 (4-6 Ivy).

The result avenged the Big Red's 74-72 victory over the Bears on Jan. 30 in Providence, R.I. when Kobe Dickson's putback with 0.1 seconds left gave the visitors the win. This time, Cornell took the lead with 13 seconds left when the senior big man finished off a Jordan Jones pass at the rim to go up 80-79. The Big Red forced a miss on the other side by All-Ivy Tamenang Choh, but Gainey cleaned up the miss and put it back in. The home team was able to inbound the basketball, but the ball was stolen and the Bears walked off the win.

Chris Manon had 17 points, seven rebounds, Dickson made al five of his shots from the floor en route to 14 points and Jordan Jones scored 13 with five assists. Dean Noll registered six assists and two steals without a turnover, with Keller Boothby nailing three 3pointers for nine points to go along with six boards. Cornell shot 53 percent from the floor for the game.

Gainey had 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots to lead six players in double figures for the Bears. Choh scored 11 to go along with 15 rebounds and three assists. Brown held a 39-32 edge on the glass, including a 10-0 edge in second chance points. David Mitchell (12), Dan Friday (11), Perry Cowan (10) and Kino Liilly Jr. (10) also reached double figures for the Bears.

The game was an instant classic featuring six ties and a whopping 20 lead changes and mirrored the first meeting. This time, it was Brown that set the tone and marched into the break with the lead (49-41). Cornell took control after the half, using a late basket to turn the tide. The visitors got a putback after an initial miss to claim the win.

 

FIRST HALF

• The first half was a track meet, with the Bears taking an eight-point lead after shooting 58 percent from the floor with Perry Cowan scoring a game-high 10 points.
• Cornell trailed by as many as nine in the first 20 minutes, and eight turnovers took some of the luster off its 54 percent shooting and 6-of-12 effort from beyond the 3-point arc.
• Dickson made all four field goal attempts and both Dean Noll and Chris Manon had seven at the break.
• The Bears controlled the paint with three blocked shots and a 28-18 edge in scoring inside the key
• Cornell led by five early on after Sarju Patel's 3-pointer 4:27 in made it 14-9, but Brown took the lead two minutes later after an 8-2 run.
• A small surge late in the first half saw a Gainey dunk and a turnover on the inbounds lead to a Lilly floater in the lane to push its lead from three to seven in the span of six seconds.
• A Cowan run-out dunk and a pair of free throws late made the Brown lead eight at halftime.
 

SECOND HALF

• Cornell came out of the gates strong, going on a 10-1 run over the first 3:21 after the break to take a 51-50 advantage.
• The lead went back-and-forth with Cornell leading by six after Patel scored three straight, including a fastbreak layup when a Marcus Filien deflection turned into a steal.
• Brown regained the lead, then went up five (75-70) with under three minutes to play when Dan Friday hit his third 3-pointer of the night without a miss.
• Keller Boothby drained a 3-pointerwith 2:31 left to make in a one-point game and Manon's 3-pointer after stepping behind a screen give the home team a78-77 lead with 88 seconds left.
• After Choh regained the lead for Brown with two free throws with 34 seconds left, Jordan Jones found Kobe Dickson under the basket with 13 seconds left.
• While the senior looked like he might be the hreo for the second straight meeting against the Bears, Brown called timeout with nine seconds left.
• Tamenang Choh missed a well-defended runner, but the errant shot bounced right into the extended hands of Gainey who dunked it through the hoop with a shade over three seconds left.
• The inbounds pass was bobbled and Brown came up with it, not allowing the Big Red a chance for a desperation heave.
 

NEXT UP

• The Big Red will attempt to sweep the season series with Dartmouth when the two teams meet on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H.
• Cornell earned a 79-71 win over the Big Green on Jan. 2 in the Ivy opener for both teams at Newman Arena.
• Dean Noll had 20 points, 15 in the second half, and Chris Manon scored 16 as the Big Red shot 60 percent after halftime to pick up the victory.