ITHACA, N.Y. -- Junior AK Okereke's monster floor game and the Big Red's first half effort on the offensive glass was the difference as Cornell topped Dartmouth 76-64 on Friday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 12-6 (4-1 Ivy) while moving into sole possession of second place in the Ancient Eight standings. The Big Green slipped to 8-10 (2-3 Ivy).

Okereke scored 19 points with seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots to lead three double-figure scorers for the home team. Senior Nazir Williams, who was honored pregame for becoming the school's 28th 1,000-point scorer, netted 14 points with four rebounds and four assists, while junior Cooper Noard scored 12, including hitting three of the team's 10 3-pointers on the evening. Senior Guy Ragland Jr. had seven points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in an active performance, while Jake Fiegen netted eight points and Adam Hinton scored six off the bench. Cornell connected on eight of its final nine shots on the day to end the day at 44 percent shooting, assisting on 17 baskets and collecting a season-best eight blocked shots.

Ryan Cornish scored 28 points to go along with six rebounds to lead the Big Green, with Romeo Myrthil adding 12 with a game-best eight rebounds. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Brandon Mitchell-Day had seven points and five boards after posting 23 points and 20 rebounds in last weekend's win at Brown. The Big Green was limited to 37 percent shooting and connected on just 6-of-28 3-pointers (21 percent).
 

In a physical contest throughout, neither team could seemingly buy a bucket, though the Big Red created some extra first half offense with extra possessions. Cornell grabbed nine offensive boards (from seven different players) and forced eight turnovers. Okereke finished the first 20 minutes with 11 points, five boards, three steals and two assists to lead the Big Red, who led 35-24 despite shooting just 39 percent form the floor. The defense limited the Big Green to 35 percent shooting and a miserable 2-for-13 from beyond the arc. Taking out Cornish's first half total of 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and Dartmouth was just 3-for-14 from the floor overall (21 percent).

Cornell coasted in the second half, going up by as many as 15 points and only briefly seeing the lead cut to six early in the second half and eight with just over three minutes to play. Williams and Okereke each scored eight after the break, with the senior's step-back jumper with 3:43 to play and Okereke's driving three-point play 35 seconds later essentially putting a dagger in the visitors.

UP NEXT
• Cornell will complete its first Ivy League back-to-back weekend of the season when it welcomes Harvard to Newman Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The Big Red leads the all-time series 98-87 after sweeping last season's home-and-home.
• The teams have split the past 10 meetings after the Crimson had won six consecutive matchups.