ALBANY, N.Y. — In its first game back from a two-week break, Cornell men’s basketball did what it does best – light up the box score.
Behind a scorching 54% effort from the field in the first half, the Big Red defeated lowly ranked Siena 95-74 on Tuesday at MVP Arena.
“It’s good to see shots going in a tough environment,” Cornell coach Brian Earl said. “In the beginning, we couldn’t get out and run as much as I had hoped. [Siena] did a good job sort of controlling things, and then it loosened up a little bit.
“Most of the game we played hard, which was fun to watch.”
Tied at 10 a little over seven minutes in, Cornell (8-2) started to inch away from the Saints (2-9, 1-1 MAAC) before an offensive explosion in the final five minutes of the half. Spearheaded by three consecutive layups from senior guard Isaiah Gray over 32 seconds, Cornell scored 22 points in the final five minutes to go up 51-34 at the break.
“If we play the way we want to play, it’s really difficult to sustain [for opponents],” Earl said. “I thought Isaiah and Keller [Boothby] both did what they do. Keller found his open shots, Isaiah really pushed it and put some pressure on them. I thought it was just in that late second half, it was a lot for Siena to overcome.”
Gray and Boothby each had 11 points at the break. Gray ended up with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting to lead the squad while Boothby finished with 13.
“We’re a team that, in my three years playing, we can go on these crazy runs,” Gray said. “Just kind of sticking with it, not trying to do too much as an individual just knowing it comes back around. When it’s your time, take advantage of it.”
Cornell led by as many as 30 points with 8:08 remaining, but Siena cut into its deficit late as the Big Red experimented with different lineups. Eighteen different players got into the game with 14 of them recording points.
Guy Ragland Jr. scored 13 and knocked down both of his attempts from distance. In a wild second-half sequence, Ragland got consecutive steals in full-court pressure. Off the first steal, he knocked down a triple, and off the second steal, he converted a three-point play.
Freshman guard Jacob Beccles scored 10 off the bench and played effective on-ball defense. Senior guard Chris Manon pitched in with nine, including the first five of the game. Sophomore sharpshooting guard Cooper Noard also notched nine.
“[Siena is] a young team. We knew they’d never seen a team that could cut as hard as we do,” Boothby said. “We knew we could take advantage of that. We have five shooters on the court, so we could spread the court, just spray it around. When you’re open, let it fly.”
The Saints, who entered Tuesday at No. 360 in KenPom, struggled mightily on offense, shooting just 34% as a team. Cornell restricted Siena’s leading scorer Michael Eley to just nine points off 3-for-16 shooting. Junior guard Sean Durugordon ended up with 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Saints, but 12 of those points came in the final 10 minutes.
Durugordon was in his first game with Siena. A two-time transfer, he was eligible for the first time this season after a federal court ruling last week wiped the multi-time transfer rule.
“It was all hands on deck,” Earl said on defending the newly paired Siena duo. “Everybody helped make sure you’re locked into what their tendencies are, and I’m not sure how they did, but force them into shots that we want them to take. We need to do a better job of going and getting the rebound, but I thought the guys were locked in.”
Despite shooting 13 points better from the field and outscoring their opponent by 21, Cornell got outrebounded by 16 (50-34).
“[Siena has] had struggles shooting the ball and I think they are training themselves to go get the rebound, and they did a good job with it,” Earl said. “We sometimes get ahead of ourselves with trying to leak out. It’s something to look at. I’m sure every Ivy League team is taking note.”
The Big Red will make a pit stop in Ithaca for a few days of practice before heading down to Moon Township, Pa. on Friday to face Robert Morris.