ITHACA, N.Y. -- Five players reached double figures and the Cornell men's basketball team pulled away late to claim an 86-73 victory over Army West Point on Tuesday evening at Newman Arena. The win in the Big Red's home opener evened its record at 2-2. The Black Knights slipped to 1-4 on the season.

Seniors Cooper Noard (16 points) and Adam Hinton (15 points) combined for 31 points, but it was a career high for three others players that allowed the Big Red to win its win streak over Patriot League foes to 12 games. Seniors DJ Nix and Corbin Zentner, as well as sophomore Mateen Rafiq, each tallied 12 points to carry the Big Red to victory. Hinton stuffed the box score with nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block to go with his 15 points, while Noard went 5-for-9 from the field and 5-for-7 at the line and added three rebounds and two steals. Junior Kaspar Sepp posted seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds. In all, Cornell held a 41-36 edge on the glass, assisted on 20 of its 29 field goals, and shot 50 percent overall from the floor and 48 percent from beyond the arc.

Army was led by Jorn Everson, who scored a game-high 24 points and hit four of the Black Knights' six 3-pointers. Jacen Holloway added 22 points, and Ryan Curry had 13 points and six assists. Army shot 37 percent overall, including 6-for-29 from beyond the arc, but stayed in the game by going 19-for-24 at the free-throw line and scoring 36 points in the paint.



The Big Red overcame an early 8-3 deficit by settling into an offensive rhythm sparked by Noard and Zentner. After Noard's steal and layup cut the margin to 8-7, Zentner tied the game with a left-wing 3-pointer, then buried another trey moments later to give the Big Red its first lead at 13-12. Army briefly pulled even at 13-13, but Cornell responded immediately: Hinton scored on the break for a 15-14 edge, then added another layup and a 3-pointer during a stretch in which he scored seven straight Cornell points, pushing the lead to 20-16. The Big Red's defense helped fuel the surge, forcing turnovers on three straight Army possessions to maintain control.

Cornell continued to build separation as its depth took over. A transition three from Ian Imegwu made it 29-20, capping a 9-2 burst. In the closing minutes of the half, the Big Red strung together stops and scored at the rim, with Hinton converting another fastbreak layup DJ Nix adding a conventional three-point play followed by a corner 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds. That sequence turned an eight-point margin into Cornell's largest lead of the half at 39–28, an advantage it carried into the locker room.

The home team opened the second half with a 39-28 lead, but Army quickly closed the gap with a 7-0 burst capped by a 3-pointer from Everson, trimming the margin to 41-35. The Black Knights twice cut the deficit to two, the last at 44-42, before Zentner halted the surge with a key 3-pointer. From there, timely plays from Nix, Hinton and Anthony Nimani kept Cornell in front as the teams traded baskets, with a Rafiq corner 3-pointer restoring a seven-point lead midway through the half.

Cornell finally created separation inside the final eight minutes. Zentner and Rafiq hit back-to-back treys to push the advantage to 57-49, and after Army answered, buckets from Noard and Nix extended the lead to 65-57. The decisive blow came when Rafiq canned his third 3-pointer of the half to make it 77-62 with just over three minutes left, and steady rebounding and late free throws closed out the victory.

NEXT UP
• The Big Red continues its three-game home stand against Central New York rival Colgate  on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• Cornell has won four straight matchups between the teams, including a 84-57 contest last season in Hamilton.
• The Big Red leads the all-time series 77-58.