ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team closed the game on a 37-12 run over the final 9:30 to sail past Yale 94-82 on Friday afternoon at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 13-4 (3-1 Ivy) in the nationally-televised contest, while the Bulldogs fell to 11-6 (1-3 Ivy) with the loss. 

Nazir Williams scored 23 of his career-high 27 points in the second half and added five rebounds and five assists, while Greg Dolan netted 14 points and Guy Ragland Jr. scored 12 with five boards and two assists. Cornell shot 57 percent in the second half and 51 percent overall while assisting on 17 baskets against just eight turnovers. The Big Red forced 16 turnovers with 10 steals, three coming by way of Ivy league leader Chris Manon. The home team hit 13-of-27 3-pointers and 31-of-34 free throws to top the Bulldogs, who entered the game ninth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 58.2 points per game. Yale foes were shooting .377 from the floor entering the contest.

Senior Marcus Filien and freshman Josh Baldwin played key roles in the victory. Filien knocked down three first half 3-pointers to keep the Big Red in the game (Yale led 49-43 at the break), while Baldwin's defense and a key 3-pointer helped the home team slow down a Yale squad shooting 69 percent from the floor midway through the second half. Baldwin was +21 in his 14 minutes on the court.

Bez Mbeng tallied 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting for Yale to lead three double figure scorers, with John Poulakidas (12 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks) and Matt Knowling (11 points, four rebounds) also reaching the mark. Yale, which ranked seventh in the nation in rebounding margin (+8.8) held a 25-23 edge in a game where not many rebounds were available. 

For 30 minutes, it seemed like the Bulldogs were in complete control. But on Friday the 13th, crazy things started happening.

After Yale went up 13 (70-57) on an Isaiah Kelly dunk, the comeback began. It started with a Keller Boothby 3-pointer, then one by Baldwin and a driving layup by Williams to cut it to five (70-65) with a 8-0 run over 1:52. Following a media timeout, the Big Red forced a shot clock violation, Williams hit two free throws and, after a Yale miss, Ragland Jr. canned his second 3-pointer of the night to even the score at 70-70; The run ended at 17-0 and a four-point Big Red lead with Bez Mbeng made two of three free throws, but seven straight points by Williams for the Big Red extended the home team's lead to five.

In the blink of an eye, it was a double-figure lead when Baldwin stole a pass with just under a minute to play and hit 1-of-2 free throws. In all, the Big Red made 11-of-12 free throws in the final 65 seconds to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

When it was over, Cornell had outscored the Bulldogs 37-12 in the final 10 minutes and 24-12 in the final six minutes, with two of the late baskets coming after the Big Red allowed the Bulldogs a bucket. 
 
 

Next Up

• Cornell hits the road for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee against Columbia on Monday, Jan. 16 at 12 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium.
• The Lions lead the all-time series 131-105, though Cornell has won two straight, including last season's season sweep by an average of 13.5 points.
• The two teams will close the regular season on March 4 at Newman Arena.