ITHACA, N.Y. -- Junior Chris Manon poured in 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, both career highs, as the Big Red wore down Brown in the second half en route to an 80-73 victory on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 15-5 (5-2 Ivy), while the Bears slipped to 10-10 (3-4 Ivy).

Cornell outscored the Bears 47-38 in the second half to improve to 9-1 at home on the season with Manon, in the starting lineup for the first time this season due to an injury to Nazir Williams, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight boards in the second half alone. Greg Dolan also scored 11 of his 14 points after the break, including hitting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Isaiah Gray chipped in 11 points and four rebounds, Guy Ragland Jr. netted eight points with seven boards and was matched in the scoring column by Josh Baldwin. Marcus Filien scored seven points and had two rebounds and three impactful blocks, two coming on Brown dunk attempts. 

The Big Red shot 59 percent in the second half and 47 percent for the game, rallying after a first half struggle that saw the home team connect on just 36 percent and 2-of-14 from beyond the arc. The national leader in 3-pointers per game, Cornell made just 7-of-26, with Brown nearly doubling them up with 13-of-39 shooting on the night. Cornell, which was allowing 51 percent shooting to conference opponents, dogged the Bears into 38 percent shooting.

Paxson Wojcik had 22 points with nine rebounds to lead the Bears, with Kino Lilly Jr. adding 17 and Aaron Cooley scoring 11. Nana Owusu-Anane nearly missed a double-double with his nine points and 12 rebounds.

In a game that featured five ties and 12 lead changes, the Big Red dominated the paint against the Bears, who fired up 39 3-pointers. Cornell held a 45-40 edge on the glass and outscored the Bears 50-28 on a night where the Big Red struggled from beyond the arc. Manon was a big reason why. The junior hit 10-of-17 field goals, nearly all going to the rim, and had five of the team's 14 offensive boards.

First Half

• The Big Red seemed to be playing from behind nearly the entire first half and trailed by as many as five at one point.
• Three first half Manon steals, two that led to breakaway layups, and seven points by Filien kept Cornell within arm's length.
• Both teams struggled from the floor over the first 20 minutes with the home team connecting on just 2-of-14 from beyond the arc.
• The Bears scored six of the final eight points before the half to take the 35-33 edge into the locker room.
• Lilly registered eight points to lead Brown, while Owusu-Anana (seven) and Wojcik (six) combined for 13 of the team's 21 rebounds.
 

Second Half

• Brown built its lead to six early in the second half on a Wojcik 3-pointer three minutes in, then pushed it back there two minutes later.
• Both times, the Big Red responded to get back within one two possessions later.
• Baldwin keyed the second run with an assist on a Dolan 3-pointer, followed by a three-point play opportunity to 45 seconds later.
• The freshman's layup with 11:28 left put the home team in the lead for good.
• Then it was Manon's turn, taking over for a stretch.
• The junior converted a three-point play, put back an offensive rebound and drove the lane for a layup on consecutive possessions to stretch its lead to nine (72-63) with 5:15 left.
• Manon blocked a pair of 3-poiont jump shots in the final minute to help the Big Red maintain its lead and capture its thirdwin in four conference home contests this season.
 

Next Up

• Cornell will hit the road for the always treacherous Princeton-Penn road trip, beginning with a visit to Jadwin Gymnasium to face the defending regular season champion Tigers on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
• The Big Red will attempt to knot the season series between the squads following a 75-68 Princeton win on Jan. 7 in Ithaca.
• The two teams have split the past six meetings,  with the Tigers winning two straight.