ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell shot 67 percent in the second half and closed out a weekend sweep with a 75-60 victory over Harvard on Saturday evening at Newman Arena. Cornell improved to 13-6 (5-1 Ivy), while the Crimson fell to 7-12 (2-4 Ivy). 

After falling behind by as many as 12 points in the first half, Cornell bridged the break with a 22-2 run that built a double-digit lead that the home team maintained throughout to hold pace with Ivy unbeaten Yale, setting up a matchup for first place next Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena.

Cornell had four players reach double figures led by junior AK Okereke with 15 points and senior Guy Ragland Jr. with 15 along with six assists, three rebounds and two steals. Senior Nazir Williams netted 11 points, Jake Fiegen scored 10 and Cooper Noard scored eight points and was an incredible +27 in his 26 minutes on the court. The Big Red shot 57 percent from the floor overall and connected on 22-of-29 shots from inside the arc (.759). 

While the starters did their part, the bench provided a big lift. Freshman Anthony Nimani scored six points and had two key offensive rebounds, while both Adam Hinton and Ryan Kiachian scored four points and grabbed three rebounds apiece. Cornell had a 32-23 edge on the backboards in the win and a 44-26 scoring edge in the paint.



Harvard got 14 points apiece from Thomas Batties II and Chandler Piggem with Battie adding five rebounds and Pigge accumulating three assists and three steals. Austin Hunt chipped in 10 points and three boards for the Crimson. Harvard shot 42 percent overall.

The Crimson got out to a hot start, taking a 16-4 lead just 4:30 into the contest. The Harvard offense leveled off, but the visitors still led by nine (32-23) when Hunt connected on a 3-pointer with four minutes remaining before the break. That would be the last time the Crimson would scored for 6:23 as Harvard would ultimately net just two points over the next 9:22 of game action. By that time, the nine-point Harvard lead was an 11-point Big Red bulge. 

It was still Harvard's lead at halftime, 32-30, with Batties' 10 points and four rebounds leading the visitors. Despite making just 2-of-11 shots from 3-point range, Cornell shot 48 percent from the floor.

Cornell quickly established the second half as a completely new game. Ragland Jr. put back his own miss to begin a second half dominated by the Big Red on the glass to knot the score and took the lead on the next possession when Cooper Noard drained a 3-pointer. Evan Nelson got Harvard back within one, but that just launched a new run - this time 10 straight points run off by the Big Red with Hinton capping it off with a bucket to make it 45-34.

Harvard crawled within 45-39, but seven consecutive by the Big Red made it a 12-point game, and the lead was in double figures for the final 12:30 of regulation and reached as high as 20 before both teams put in their reserves.

UP NEXT
• The Big Red will close out its three-game home stand when it welcomes reigning Ivy League Tournament champ Yale on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 123-113 after the teams split the season series in 2023-24, before the Bulldogs captured a 69-57 win in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals en route to earning the NCAA bid.