BERKELEY, Calif. -- For the third time in six days, the Cornell men's basketball team pulled out a road victory. For the first time in 73 years, that road win came against an ACC team.

The Big Red grabbed an 18-point halftime lead, surrendered a 23-point second half advantage and shook off both, as well as 2,800 miles of travel, to claim a hard-fought 88-80 victory over California on Tuesday evening at Haas Pavilion. Cornell heads into final exams with a 7-3 record, while the Golden Bears slipped to 6-4.

Junior AK Okereke led four Big Red double figure scorers with a career-best 24 points points, while classmate Cooper Noard also established a personal best with his 21 points. Okereke added six rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and three steals in the victory. Senior Nazir Williams chipped in with 18 points, while Jake Fiegen scored 11. Cornell shot 49 percent from the floor overall and assisted on 15 baskets with season highs of 10 steals and six blocked shots as a team.

Ryan Kiachian, one of five Big Red Californians, had six points, seven rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal off the bench, while Guy Ragland Jr. notched eight points, four boards, three assists, two steals and a block. His 3-pointer late in the second half answered Cal's first lead of the second half after the home team erased a 23-point lead. Cornell limited the Bears to 44 percent shooting on the night and picked up a season-high 10 steals.
 

Celebrate that ACC road win @cornell_mbb! #YellCornell pic.twitter.com/qMFWfEEDua

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) December 11, 2024

Joshua Ola-Joseph scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Cal's five double figure scorers. Andrej Stojakovic and Mady Sissoko each scored 13 points, Jeremiah Wilkerson had 12 and Jovan Blacksher Jr. chipped in with 11 points and seven assists, but also committed six of the team's 18 turnovers. The Golden Bears got back in the game on the strength of its second half shooting (8-of-18 from 3-point range) and its rebounding edge (26-16).

The Big Red snapped a 42-game skid against ACC schools and picked up its first victory over a school from the conference since topping Wake Forest 58-51 on Dec. 17, 1951 in the first round of the Dixie Classic in Raleigh, N.C. That game predated the addition of Hawaii and Alaska as states in the union, the formation of the Ivy League, and man landing on the moon.
 

FIRST HALF
• The Big Red led 47-29 at the half, quieting the Haas Pavilion crowd after shooting 56 percent on offense and limiting the Bears to 36 percent on the other end with 13 turnovers.
• Cornell held a 19-17 edge on the glass, held a 13-6 edge in scoring off turnovers and had a 22-12 edge in the paint.
• Williams made 6-of-7 field goals and all three of his 3-pointers for 15 points, with Okereke adding 14 points, three rebounds and three steals.
• Ola-Joseph had 16 of the team's 29 points at the break, while team leading scorer Stojakovic was scoreless in eight minutes with three turnovers after getting in early foul trouble.
• Nazir Williams scored the Big Red's first five points as the visitors took an early 7-5 lead. 
• Cornell extended its lead on a great series by Ryan Kiachian, who stripped the ball from Cal on one end before following up a miss for a bucket and a foul to go into a media timeout with an 18-13 lead.
• On the next play, Kiachian drove own the lane for a dunk to make it 20-13
• The Big Red defense continued to force turnovers, making Cal cough it up 11 times in the first 14 minutes and 13 times overall.
• Cooper Noard's second 3-pointer of the night pushed it back to 35-22.
• A signature Big Red possession with four offensive rebounds ended in a Williams trey to make the Cornell lead 38-25.
• An AK Okereke was one of five field goals in a row the Big Red made to go into the break up 18.

SECOND HALF
• Two minutes into the second half, Cornell led 52-29 and seemed as though it might run its way out of the building.
• Cal would answer, however, cutting the deficit to 8 (56-48) as Cal caught fire from 3-point range, hitting 5-of-7 to begin the half.
• A Noard 3-pointer broke the Cal run, and a spinning bucket off the dribble by the junior made it 61-50.
• Cal got back to within six (61-55) quickly, but Ragland caught a cutting Fiegen for a layup with 10 minutes to play.
• Cornell couldn't buy a bucket at one stretch, missing 9-of-10 3-pointers as the lead continued to narrow. 
• The Golden Bears eventually took their first lead (72-71) since the opening minutes on a Stojakovic 3-pointer with 5:15 left.
• The lead lasted just 15 seconds, as Ragland's 3-pointer on a feed from Williams put Cornell back ahead. 
• Cal tied the contest up, but a Ragland offensive rebound led to a floater by Noard with 3:20 remaining that put the visitors ahead for good.
• Cornell continued to get stops, finally extending the lead on a tough Fiegen driving layup with 94 seconds remaining.
• After getting another defensive stop, Okereke went to work on a drive down the lane and cashed in to make it a seven-point game and essentially put the game away.

UP NEXT
• The Big Red returns home after a month away from home when it welcomes Illinois State to Newman Arena on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 12 p.m.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• This will be the first-ever meeting between the teams and the first game for a Big Red team against a current member of the Missouri Valley Conference since it dropped a 72-69 decision to Bradley in the consolation game of the 2000 Michigan State Tournament on Nov. 25, 2000.