NEW YORK, N.Y. — Senior Josh Baldwin scored a career-high 19 points and Cornell used balanced scoring and steady defensive pressure to pull away from Columbia for an 88-67 Ivy League victory Saturday afternoon at Levien Gymnasium. The Big Red improved to 11-10 (4-4 Ivy), while the Lions slipped to 14-8 (3-5 Ivy).
Baldwin anchored Cornell's effort on both ends, finishing 4-of-9 from the field and 11-of-12 at the foul line while adding 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Senior Adam Hinton scored 13 points and classmates Cooper Noard (12) and Jake Fiegen (11) also reached double figures in scoring. Fiegen added five rebounds and five assists in the win. Juniors Kaspar Sepp (nine points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals) and Jacob Beccles (two points, three assists, two steals, two blocks) also provided high-energy efforts for the Big Red in the win, with sophomore Anthony Nimani scoring nine points The Big Red, the nation's leader in 3-pointers (13.8 per game), hit just six on the afternoon, including one in the first half.
Cornell assisted on 25 of its 30 baskets, outrebounded the Ivy League's top rebounding team by 10 (35-25) and turned the Lions over 15 times, including with 11 steals.
Kenny Noland led Columbia with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Connor Igoe added 13 points, while Blair Thompson scored nine, but the Lions struggled to keep pace as Cornell maintained its efficiency and depth throughout the afternoon.
The Big Red won for the fourth time in their past five games and improved to 3-1 on the road in Ivy play, taking control late in the first half and never letting Columbia seriously threaten after the break.
Cornell turned an early back-and-forth opening into separation with a strong closing stretch before halftime. After the teams traded baskets through the first 10 minutes, the Big Red used points in transition and at the free-throw line to build momentum, carrying a 42-32 lead into intermission. Cornell shot better than 58 percent in the first half and went a perfect 13-for-13 at the line, with Baldwin making 10 in a row without a miss.
The visitors broke the game open early in the second half with a run fueled by defense and ball movement, pushing the margin to double figures and extending it to as many as 26 points. The Big Red finished with 25 assists, forced 15 turnovers, and scored 26 points off those miscues, while also holding a 40–32 edge in points in the paint.
Cornell shot .536 from the field and 22-of-24 at the free-throw line, closing out the road win with contributions up and down the lineup. The lead grew to as many as 26 in the second half and was at least 20 points for the final 12 minutes.
NEXT UP
• The Big Red completes its three-game road swing when it hits the road for the treacherous Princeton-Penn trip beginning with its matchup with the Tigers on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at Jadwin Gymnasium.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The Big Red will attempt to complete the season sweep against the Tigers for the second straight year following an 87-64 victory on Jan. 30 in Ithaca .
