PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- For the first time in program history, the Cornell men's basketball team will play in an Ivy League Tournament final after dismantling Dartmouth 87-71 on Saturday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The Big Red (18-10) will take on top-seeded Yale in the final on Sunday at noon with the game televised on ESPN2.
Junior
AK Okereke put together a dominant 25-points, nine-rebounds, four-assist, four blocked shot and four-steal day on 10-of-15 shooting to lead three double figure scorers for the No. 2 seed. He became the first player in Big Red history to score at least 20 points with at least four rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks in a single game. Cornell shot 53 percent from the floor, connected on 10 3-pointers against one of the nation's top perimeter defenses and avenged a 39-point loss to Dartmouth in Hanover less than a month ago. Sophomore
Jake Fiegen chipped in 16 points and five rebounds and senior
Nazir Williams scored 11with five boards. Senior
Guy Ragland Jr. scored nine with six assists and junior
Cooper Noard posted nine points and seven boards.
The Big Red bench also played a vital role with key moments.
Adam Hinton scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds while hitting a +12 in his 16 minutes on the floor, while
Ryan Kiachian registered five points, four rebounds and four assists in 12 minutes.
Jacob Beccles had five points, including a key 3-pointer in the second half when Dartmouth cut its deficit to six.
Gallery: (3-15-2025) MBB vs. Dartmouth 3/15/25
Dartmouth got 20 points and seven rebounds from Brandon Mitchell-Day, while Ryan Cornish scored 15, though he was hounded into 6-of-18 shooting and 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. Romeo Myrthil scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and collected four steals, with Connor Amundsen adding 10. The Big Green shot 39 percent from the floor overall and made just 7-of-29 shots from beyond the arc. The Big Green, playing in its first-ever Ivy Tournament, trailed by as many as 18, cut the deficit to nine, but never got any closer.
It was a completely different ball game than when the two teams met on Feb. 15 in Hanover, N.H., when the Big Green raced out to a 20-2 lead and never looked back in an 88-49 drubbing. This time, the Big Red was largely in control throughout.
Both teams were able to overcome a slow start and were humming by the break with Cornell taking a 44-36 edge in the locker room. The Big Red shot 50 percent from the floor and connected on five 3-pointers, including a pair of big ones by Fiegen.
The Big Red defense was active from the beginning, collecting four steals and blocking three shots while holding Dartmouth to 42 percent shooting overall and just 3-for-17 from beyond the arc. Okereke scored 13 to go along with four boards, a pair of assists, a block and a steal, while Fiegen chipped in 10. Cornell held a 19-18 edge on the backboards and turned it over just four times, with three coming in the game's first five minutes. Williams was limited to just nine minutes after picking up two early fouls.
Cornish led the Big Green with 11 points, but missed six of his seven 3-pointers. Mitchell-Day added nine points and four boards for Dartmouth.
The Big Red took control early in the second half, scoring the first five to go up 13 and only briefly saw the lead dip back to single digits. Romeo Myrthil's two free throws got Dartmouth within 69-60, then blocked a 3-point attempt to get the No. 3 seed the ball back with 8:22 to play. Cade Haskins missed a 3-pointer on the other end and Cornell connected on two straight - one by
Adam Hinton and another by
Jacob Beccles - to push the advantage safely back to 15.
Cornell will play for its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history while attempting to avoid its third loss to Yale this season. Both were competitive against the defending tournament champion and regular season title-holder, falling 103-88 in Ithaca on Feb. 8 and 92-88 in New Haven, Conn. just 13 days later.
UP NEXT
• With the win, Cornell will play for its first-ever Ivy League Tournament title when it faces (1) Yale on Sunday, March 16 at 12 p.m. at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
• The Big Red has previously reached the NCAA Tournament in 1954, 1988, 2008, 2009 and 2010, including reaching the Sweet 16 in 2010 with victories over Temple and Wisconsin.
