ITHACA, N.Y. -- Senior Guy Ragland posted a double-double and the Cornell men's basketball team pulled away late for an 81-71 victory over Lafayette on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 3-1, while the Leopards slipped to 1-3 overall.

Ragland led three Big Red players in double figures with 16 points and 10 rebounds, with Jake Fiegen chipping in 15 points and AK Okereke adding 14. Nazir Williams scored six points with seven rebounds and five assists and Cooper Noard netted nine points. The Big Red assisted on 20 baskets and shot 52 percent in the second half, including making 7-of-11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc in the second 20 minutes.
 
Caleb Williams led four Leopards in double figures with 14 points, with Mark Butler scoring 13, Devin Hines 12 and Luka Savicevic posting 11. Lafayette shot 43 percent from the floor and connected on 10 3-pointers in the loss.

The Big Red raced out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed, though the Leopards twice knotted the game and spent much of the second half within two possessions. Lafayette clawed to within 70-68 with under four minutes remaining in regulation, but Cornell answered with a 10-0 run while getting stops at the other end. Critical 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by Jake Fiegen and Guy Ragland off assists from Okereke helped the Big Red put the game on ice.



First Half
• Cornell got out of the gates with a quick start, going up 8-0.
• The lead could have been greater as the defense got stop after stop in the first three minutes, but Cornell turned the ball over four times
• Lafayette got on the board 5:26 in on a driving layup by Mark Butler, but Cornell ran off four more to push the advantage to double figures at 12-2.
• The two teams traded baskets for much of the next 10 minutes, with the high-water mark for Cornell coming on a Chris Cain dunk on a dish from  Jacob Beccles to put the home team up 26-15 with under five minutes remaining in the half.
• Lafayette used a 14-4 run of its own to claw within 30-29 with two minutes left in the half highlighted by consecutive triples by Chaikin and Savicevic.
• Another Butler driving basket knotted the game at 31-31, but two Okereke free throws put Cornell up by two at halftime.
• Okereke and Fiegen had five points apiece at the half to lead the big Red, while Ragland had three points, seven rebounds and two assists.
• Cornell shot just 25 percent from the 3-point arc and made just 6-of-12 field goals, but were bolstered by its defense, which forced eight Lafayette miscues and limited the visitors to 36 percent shooting overall.

.Second Half
• Lafayette immediately scored out of the break to knot the game at 33-33, but Ragland connected on a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to put the Big Red back into the lead for good.
• Twice more the Leopards got back within one point, but Cornell had the answer each time. 
• When Butler converted a three-point play with just 3:27 remaining, the visitors had drawn within a bucket at 70-68.
• That's then Cornell went to work.
• Okereke drove and found Fiegen open in the corner and the sophomore splashed a 3-pointer to push the advantage back to five.
• After two defensive stops, including a Lafayette shot clock violation, Okereke drove and found Ragland on the win.
• The senior faked a pass into the corner and took the 3-pointer himself, upping the Big Red lead to 76-68 with 76 seconds remaining.
• Cornell made 5-of-6 free throws the rest of the way to seal the victory.

UP NEXT
• The Big Red remains at home to face Robert Morris on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at Newman Arena in Bartels Hall.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• Cornell leads the all-time series between the programs 3-1, including last season's 90-85 victory last December in Moon Township, Pa. 
• Chris Manon scored 20 points with six rebounds, five steals and four assists in the win.