HANOVER, N.H. -- Senior Jake Fiegen scored 22 points and Cornell delivered one of the most explosive offensive performances in program history, rolling past Dartmouth 111-90 on Saturday afternoon at Leede Arena. The Big Red (15-12, 8-6 Ivy) will enter next weekend's Ivy Madness Tournament riding a three-game win streak, while Dartmouth's season came to a close with an 11-16 record (5-9 Ivy).
The Big Red shot better than 63 percent from the field and drilled 19 3-pointers, breaking a 61-year-old school record for points against an Ivy League opponent (110 vs. Dartmouth in 1965), while posting the most points in a road game in program history. The 19 3-pointers marked Cornell's fifth game this season with at least 19 makes from beyond the arc - a total reached just five times in program history entering the year. Eight of the 10 games in school history with 19 or more 3-pointers have come during the first two seasons under head coach Jon Jaques '10.
Fiegen made 7-of-9 shots, including five 3-pointers, en route to a game-high 22 points in just 21 minutes of action to pace five double-figure scorers. Senior Adam Hinton scored 16, junior Jacob Beccles had 14points to go along with five assists, Cooper Noard netted 12 and Josh Baldwin scored 11. Mateen Rafiq scored nine points off the bench, while senior DJ Nix handed out a career-high eight assists in the victory without a turnover. In all, the Big Red shot .631 as a team and assisted on 25 of its 41 baskets. No player saw more than 21 minutes.
Cornell's offense was sharp from the opening minutes. After falling behind 14-11 midway through the first half, the Big Red caught fire from beyond the arc, using a series of perimeter shots from Fiegen and Josh Baldwin to surge back in front.
Fiegen sparked the decisive stretch, knocking down three 3-pointers during a run that helped Cornell build a double-digit advantage. A fast-break 3 from Fiegen with under a minute remaining capped the first-half surge and pushed the lead to 57-41 before Jacob Beccles finished the half with a layup to send the Big Red into the locker room ahead 59-43. Cornell shot a blistering .656 in the opening half and made 11-of-20 from beyond the arc.
The Big Red never let Dartmouth back into the game after the break. Baldwin's driving layup to open the second half extended the lead to 61-43, and Cooper Noard's basket moments later pushed the margin to 20. Cornell continued to pour it on behind its depth and ball movement and emptied the bench with nearly seven minutes remaining.
Dartmouth was led by Jayden Williams and Cameron McNamee, who each scored 21 points. Brandon Mitchell-Day added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Big Green in his final collegiate contest.
Cornell led by as many as 26 points in the second half and finished 19-of-38 from 3-point range while scoring 20 points off turnovers.
NEXT UP
• The Big Red will advance to Ivy Madness for the fifth straight season and sixth time overall when it meets reigning conference champ Yale on Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m. at Newman Arena.
• The semifinal contest will be televised on ESPNU.
• The winner of the first semifinal will meet either No. 2 Harvard or No. 3 Penn in Sunday's championship game at 12 p.m. with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
