ITHACA, N.Y. -- For the fifth year in a row, the Cornell men's basketball team has qualified for Ivy Madness. This time, it will have a chance to play spoiler in front of Newman Nation.

Big Red seniors scored 64 points on Senior Day and Cornell held on late to top Brown 86-80 on Saturday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red victory, coupled with results of the other league contests, clinched the No. 4 overall seed and completed a weekend sweep that moved its record to 14-12 (7-6 Ivy). Brown slipped to 9-17 (3-10 Ivy).

Cornell did what it does, hitting 13 3-pointers, assisting on 20 baskets and outrebounding the bigger Bears 34-32 as it slowly pulled away in the second half, then hit free throws late to stave off a Brown comeback. That it wasn't easy also isn't surprising. The Big Red became the second team in Ivy history to start 0-3 in conference play and ultimately reach Ivy Madness - joining Cornell's 2017-18 team that finished 6-8 in league play.

In his final regular season contest at home, senior cooper Noard kept the Big Red in it early by scoring 21 of his game-high 30 points before halftime to allow Cornell to head into the locker room with a narrow 46-45 lead. Junior Jacob Beccles was also outstanding with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Senior Jake Fiegen, the hero of Friday night's win over Yale, had 16 points, five boards and three of Cornell's eight steals. Junior Kaspar Sepp had three points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots off the bench. The home team shot 46 percent from the floor overall and hit 13-of-35 shots from beyond the arc while also connecting on 23-of-27 free throws with a perfect 13-for-13 second half.

Landon Lewis scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Brown, connecting on 10-of-17 field goals for a Brown team that shot 48 percent from the floor. Adrian Uchidiuno scored 16 points and Like Paragon notched 11 in the loss. The Bears had 21 assists and held a 44-24 edge in scoring in the paint.

Cornell led 46-45 at the break after a back-and-forth first 20 minutes that featured 13 lead changes. Brown shot nearly 56 percent in the opening half and built a 10-3 advantage early, but Noard's four first-half 3-pointers kept the Big Red within striking distance. Hinton's two free throws in the closing seconds sent Cornell into the locker room with a one-point edge. Senior Corbin Zentner made his first career start and hit an energy-lifting 3-pointer in the opening stretch.

The Big Red seized control midway through the second half. After trailing 49-48, Cornell used a 12-0 run to stretch the margin to 59-49, highlighted by a 3-pointer from senior DJ Nix and a three-point play from Fiegen. Beccles later drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 74-62 with just over six minutes remaining.

Brown answered behind Lewis and Uchidiuno, cutting the deficit to four in the final minute on a layup by Jeremiah Jenkins, but Cornell went 7-for-8 at the line in the closing seconds to seal the win.

NEXT UP
• Cornell will close out the regular season when it visits Dartmouth on Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m. at Leede Arena.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The Big Red will attempt to split the season series with the Big Green after its 102-91 loss at home on Jan. 10.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 119-111 and has won six of the past eight meetings, though the Big Green have captured two of the past three games.