ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team tuned up for the Ivy League Tournament by clinching second place in the regular season Ivy League standings for a second straight year, dismantling Columbia 100-81 on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena. The Big Red celebrated Senior Night with its second straight 100-point effort in improving to 17-10 (9-5 Ivy), while the Lions ended their season 12-15 (1-13 Ivy).

Cornell led wire-to-wire on Senior Day, with four Big Red players starting in their final home game. From an alley-oop finish by Chris Cain on its first possession, the Big Red was in control the entire way, leading by as many as 23 and winning its fourth straight to enter postseason.

In his last game in front of Newman Nation, seniors Nazir Williams (26 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Guy Ragland Jr. (15 points, five assists, two steals) showcased their playmaking. The duo assisted on nine baskets with just one turnover in pacing an offense that dished out 21 assists to just eight miscues on the day. Cain had two points, two rebounds and an assist in his first collegiate start, while classmate Ryan Kiachian scored four points with two rebounds and an assist in the victory. Senior Hayden Franson was also honored prior to the game.



Junior AK Okereke had another outstanding game in support of his senior classmates, coming off the bench for the first time this season and accounted for 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Cooper Noard rounded out four double figure scorers with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, including a four-point play. Jake Fiegen scored seven points and Gioacchino Panzini had five rebounds in key minutes off the bench. Cornell shot 55 percent from the floor overall and connected on 13 3-pointers on the afternoon. The Big Red have now scored 100 points in consecutive games for the third time in program history and the first time since doing so in back-to-back days at Barton Hall, knocking off Harvard (109-96) and Dartmouth (102-82) on Feb. 11-12, 1966.

Zine Eddine Bedri posted 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lions, while Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa scored 14 points, including hitting three 3-pointers. The Lions shot 47 percent overall and had 18 assists, with Avery Brown (10) and Mason Ritter (10) also reaching double figures.

From a 4-4 tie in the early minutes, three different Big Red players connected on 3-pointers in the span of 46 seconds, and a possession later Jacob Beccles found a wide open Kiachian in the lane for a dunk to make it 15-6. just five minutes in. Cornell saw its 13-point lead dwindle to four at 29-25 when Rubio De La Rosa connected on a 3-pointer with 7:20 left, but Williams answered with a trey and Ragland Jr. connected on another on consecutive possessions on the way to an 18-point bulge that settled in at 53-42 at halftime.

The Lions cut the deficit to seven points on several occasions, the last time at 75-68 with nine minutes to play, but a 17-1 Big Red run over a three-minute span effectively ended any hopes for a comeback. Noard hit a pair of 3-pointers, including one that resulted in a four-point play, and Williams scored five straight to close the run. The Big Red hit the century mark on a DJ Nix layup with under a minute remaining, the 35th time in program history it has scored at least 100 points and the fourth time this year under first-year head coach Jon Jaques '10.

UP NEXT
• The Cornell men's basketball team will head to Ivy Madness where it will play Dartmouth in the second semifinal on Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m. at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I.
• The contest will be televised on ESPNU and simulcast on ESPN+.
• The teams split the season series, with the Big Green's 88-49 win on Feb. 15 to snap Cornell's five-game win streak in the series.