ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team didn't let the freezing temperatures outside Newman Arena creep in, making 24 of its first 25 shots from inside the 3-point arc in running past Princeton 87-64 on Friday evening. The Big Red (10-9, 3-3 Ivy) used blistering efficiency to claim its third straight league win, leading wire-to-wire in picking off the Tigers (7-14, 3-3 Ivy)..

The Big Red led wire-to-wire and the nation's leading 3-point shooting team did most of its damage inside the paint in building a commanding lead that reached as many as 36 points in the second half. Cornell shot .636 from the floor overall, the 11th-best single-game mark in school history and made 24-of-27 shots from two-point range overall (.889), a school record for the team that led Division I in two-point percentage a year ago. 

While the offense gets the headlines, it was the Big Red's defense that really made the difference on this night. Cornell held Princeton to 40 percent shooting and was under 34 percent when the starters departed with six minutes to play. The home team had an energetic effort with seven steals and five blocked shots.

Senior Jake Fiegen led a balanced Cornell attack with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in just 23 minutes as all five starters reached double figures. Classmate Cooper Noard, who was honored prior to the game for reaching the 1,000-point plateau, added 15 points, while senior Josh Baldwin finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Junior Jacob Beccles chipped in 12 points and five assists, and senior Adam Hinton scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.



Cornell scored the game's first basket and steadily widened the margin behind crisp ball movement and relentless rim pressure. The Big Red opened a double-digit lead midway through the first half and took a 48-32 advantage into the locker room after closing the half on a 22-6 run. Cornell shot 19-of-28 from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

The Big Red continued to pour it on after halftime, pushing the lead past 30 midway through the second half as its transition game and interior scoring overwhelmed the Tigers. The Big Red scored 46 points in the paint and added 18 fast-break points, turning 12 Princeton turnovers into 19 points.

With the outcome well in hand, Cornell emptied its bench with just under six minutes remaining, allowing reserves to close out the contest.

Princeton (was led by Jackson Hicke's 13 points as the team's lone double figure scorer and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals. The Tigers received 33 points from their bench but were unable to slow Cornell's offensive efficiency.

NEXT UP
• The Big Red returns to action when it meets Penn on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• Cornell swept the Quakers last season, including capturing a 90-62 triumph at Newman Arena.