LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Cornell's offense rewrote both the school and arena record books when the dust settled on the Big Red's 101-72 victory over Bucknell on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. Cornell won its fifth straight to improve to 5-2, while the Bison slipped to 2-7.

The Big Red shot .673 from the field, breaking the 40-year-old single-game program record of .656 vs. Marist during the 1989-90 season. Cornell's 20 made 3-pointers and 30 assists also set arena records in the 14th consecutive win for the Big Red against Patriot League opponents.

Senior Cooper Noard scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, to lead a balanced Cornell attack that had six players score in double figures. Junior Jacob Beccles added 13 points, while seniors Corbin Zentner and Jake Fiegen each had 11. Sophomores Anthony Nimani and Gio Panzini chipped in 10 apiece for the Big Red. Senior Josh Baldwin dished off a team-best six assists, while junior Kaspar Sepp ripped down a team-high six boards. 

Cornell finished 37-of-55 from the floor and 20-of-32 from 3-point range, posting the seventh-best 3-point percentage in a game in school history (.625). The Big Red assisted on 30 of their 37 field goals and got 60 points from a deep bench that helped keep the pace relentless. 

Bucknell led 7-4 in the early going before Cornell's first wave of substitutions changed the game. Zentner's layup tied it at 2-2, and a fast-break dunk by Nimani pushed Cornell in front. From there, the Big Red layered in their perimeter game: Fiegen's first 3-pointer gave Cornell a 9-7 edge, and Noard's first triple made it 16-12.

A barrage late in the half blew the game open. Fiegen and Panzini hit back-to-back 3s, Fiegen added another from deep, and Panzini's fast-break dunk pushed the margin to 33-20. Noard buried a trey from the left wing, then Beccles scored eight points in the final three minutes, including a corner 3-pointer with 18 seconds left, to send Cornell into halftime up 45-30. 

The Big Red picked up where they left off after the break. Senior DJ Nix scored on a layup, then Noard drilled a 3-pointer in transition to make it 50-32. After a Bucknell timeout, Noard splashed another trey and Nix followed with one of his own to push the lead to 58-37. Cornell's advantage never dipped below double digits the rest of the way. 

Zentner provided the knockout stretch midway through the half, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the margin to 76-56. Later, Nimani and junior Ian Imegwu canned 3s on consecutive possessions, and Panzini's wing triple made it 97-64 for Cornell's largest lead of 33.

Cornell's defense was nearly as effective, forcing 17 Bucknell turnovers and turning them into 15 points. The Big Red held the Bison to .383 percent shooting overall and just 7-of-26 from 3-point range. 

Aleksander Pachucki led Bucknell with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Amon Dörries added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Fulton scored eight for the Bison, who were outscored 56-42 after halftime. 

Cornell also owned a 32-26 edge on the glass and outscored Bucknell 34-26 in the paint. Cornell has now hit 44 3-pointers in its past two games and 82 (16.4 per game) during its five-game win streak.

NEXT UP

• Cornell will travel to Fairfax, Va. to face George Mason on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at EagleBank Arena.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The two teams have split two previous meetings, with the Patriots winning the most recent contest 90-83 on Nov. 15, 2023 in Fairfax, Va.
• Cornell opened the 2014-15 campaign with a 68-60 victory on the road.