ITHACA, N.Y. — After consecutive losses to Miami and Syracuse of the ACC, the Cornell men needed a bounce-back victory.
They got it in the biggest way.
Behind 51% shooting, the Big Red never trailed against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, winning 96-64 Tuesday evening.
“We recovered well from Syracuse,” said Cornell coach Brian Earl. “It was good to get a win at home and feel back to normal again after a couple of tough losses.”
Cornell (8-3) opened on a 9-2 run and took off with it. The hosts led 46-27 at the half and by as many as 34 in the second half en route to the dominating result.
The team went just 3-for-13 from deep in the first half, finding most of its early points inside. But the perimeter opened up in the final 20 minutes as the Big Red connected on 12 triples.
“Our guys sort of naturally just figured out that we’d have to make [Lehigh] a little bit more honest in the second half,” Earl said. “They got downhill and got to the basket and it sort of opened up the three-point shot a little bit in the second.”
Fourteen different players scored for Cornell. Senior guard Greg Dolan led the way with 16 points and Nazir Williams had 11.
But Guy Ragland Jr., Max Watson and Keller Boothby — all shooters who struggled against Syracuse — got back into rhythm. Combined, they hit nine of 17 trey attempts on the night.
“It’s good to see the shots go in,” Earl said. “Those guys spend a lot of time and effort in the gym, and it hurts a little bit when Keller, Guy and Max have a tough shooting night altogether at Syracuse. It gets you back to normal a little bit.”
Ragland, a 6’8″ forward, finished with 13 total points. With his size, he isn’t always expected to have deep range. Last season, he connected on 35% of his three-point attempts.
He’s at just 25% this year, but he always has the green light.
“I’ve always had a good touch and it sort of just developed over time,” Ragland said. “When I got here, they realized that I could shoot, and they sort of just flipped things up for the defenses. I would come in third, and they would just be like ‘let it fly’ because they are going to be backed up so far off.
“Being that Sean [Hansen] and I, Chris [Cain] and Ryan [Kiachian] all get the ball at the top, me and Sean’s shooting ability really stretches [defenses] toward us and really makes them have to guard us.”
Watson finished with 12 points off 4-for-6 shooting. A 6-foot-4 guard, Watson transferred from Salt Lake Community College over the summer and has made an immediate impact in the Big Red lineup.
In his Division l debut against Boston College, Watson hit a game-tying three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining. He scored 13 points at Miami two weeks ago. Watson hasn’t shied away from shooting and fit into Earl’s system with ease upon his arrival.
“The team here plays very similar to how I played in junior college,” Watson said. “The transition was a lot easier and just the fact that all of us have bought into the system. We might not get all of the things that we want, but since all of us are bought in, it just works. It’s super fun to play and we’re seeing success from it.”
A statistical oddity
Cornell has had one of the best offenses in the country this season, according to KenPom. It’s ranked 90th in adjusted offensive efficiency, 27th in effective field goal percentage and 39th in turnover percentage.
The Big Red are also ranked ninth in two-point percentage (59.5%) and eighth in average possession length (15 seconds). They connect on 34.5% of their three-pointers, good for 130th.
But despite Cornell’s aggressive offense, led by back-door cuts and quick shots, the Big Red have some of the worst free throw metrics in the country.
Cornell is dead last of 363 teams in free throw rate and makes just 62.6% of their shots, which puts it 338th.
“Sometimes we don’t get there a lot; every free-throw feels like the first time,” Earl said. “We tend to shoot quick and we tend to shoot open shots if we can, and I think that’s a function of it. It’s going to get harder when we hit the [Ivy] League; hopefully we’ll be able to cut through contact.
“But to now, before league, I think it’s mostly we’ve done a good job of getting the shots we like.”
An Ivy feel is in the air
The Big Red will make the short trek to Hamilton, New York on Thursday to face the Colgate Raiders.
Despite a 6-6 record, the Raiders have defeated Syracuse and Brown, while also losing to Penn.
Matt Langel, a Penn 2000 alum, has led Colgate to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons its been played. After starting 4-10 last year, Colgate won 19 of its next 20 games to secure a tournament bid, where it fell 67-60 to Wisconsin in the first round.
With Langel being an Ivy product, he enforces a similar style of play on his team. It’s sure to give Cornell an early feel of what an Ivy League game will be like this season.
“It’s a tester game,” Watson said. “It’s going to show who we are and show everyone else who we are.”
“They’re no joke. They’re the best team in their league,” Ragland said. “We want to prove ourselves as one of the best teams in our league. That’s a huge statement game for us.”
Earl is less excited than his players. He’s good friends with Langel and his staff and doesn’t enjoy playing Colgate each season despite the fact Cornell won last year’s meeting.
“I’m hoping for a good effort and that we fight,” Earl said. “They’ve got some guys that have been there forever. They know how to play basketball. They’re smart. They do everything correct.
“It’s going to be a test of a little of our style versus theirs, and can we play at our style.”