Chris Manon

Cornell men’s basketball lays egg in 78-74 loss to Brown

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Coming off arguably its best win of the season over Yale, Cornell men’s basketball laid an egg.

Trailing nearly the entire game, the Big Red couldn’t mount a late comeback Saturday night, losing to Brown, 78-74, spoiling Senior Night and a perfect record at Newman Arena this season. But most importantly, it pulled Cornell out of the driver’s seat in the battle for the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Ivy League Tournament.

Behind 15 with 4:49 left, the Big Red nearly mounted an improbable comeback. Senior forward Sean Hansen drilled a triple and senior guard Chris Manon finished in the paint. Junior forward Guy Ragland Jr. got a layup before backing his man down and eventually finishing and drawing a foul.

Ragland missed the free throw, but the Big Red came up with a stop. With 1:14 left, sophomore guard Cooper Noard squared up and nailed a corner triple to cut it down to 74-71.

That, however, was the closest Cornell got. Though the Bears missed multiple free throws down the stretch, the Big Red did the same as the door got left wide open.

Sophomore forward Kalu Anya led Brown with 23 points off 9-of-18 shooting. Junior forward Nana Owusu-Anane added 15 and senior guard Kimo Ferrari had 13.

For Cornell, Hansen led with 16 points and Ragland had 11. Manon and junior guard Nazir Williams each had 10 as Cornell shot just 44%, shooting well under 50% for the second consecutive night.

The loss draws Cornell even with Yale and Princeton at 9-2 in the Ivy. Both Cornell and Princeton went 1-1 against Yale this year, meaning the top seed in the conference will likely get decided next weekend when the Big Red visit the Tigers. Cornell handled Princeton earlier this year at Newman Arena.

But for a team that controlled its own destiny, losing to Brown is massive. It eliminates their cushion. And now, the Big Red will have heavy lifting at Jadwin Gymnasium to earn the No. 1 seed in a year when the top seed has never been so important.

First for Cornell, it’ll visit Penn on Friday night. Brown will host Cornell.

Cornell men’s basketball survives Yale, 65-62, to climb atop Ivy League standings

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Cornell men’s basketball didn’t win Friday night’s marquee matchup with Yale because of its offense.

It won because of its defense and grit. And maybe a little luck.

Surviving the Bulldogs, 65-62, the Big Red took sole possession of first place in the Ivy League standings.

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Cornell men’s basketball sweeps weekend over Harvard and Dartmouth, looks toward Yale rematch

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After its first Ivy League loss to Yale last weekend, Cornell men’s basketball wasn’t fazed.

Chip on their shoulders and all, the Big Red returned home and came up with a sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth for the second time in three weeks.

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Yale men’s basketball notches comeback win over Cornell in battle of Ivy unbeatens

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Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones described his team’s 80-78 home win over Cornell in a high-stakes clash of Ivy unbeatens Saturday as “helter skelter.”

The last 40 seconds of the game epitomized that.

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Cornell men’s basketball pulls away from Harvard in the second half to remain unbeaten in Ivy League play

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After hard-fought wins for both teams on Friday night, Cornell men’s basketball looked to use its depth, while Harvard hoped its physical defense would be the difference in the second night of the opening weekend of back-to-back contests.

While the two teams slugged it out in the first half, the Big Red’s relentless roster wore down the Crimson over the final 20 minutes and came away with an 89-76 win in front of an Alumni Night crowd that featured NCAA president and Ivy Basketball Legend Charlie Baker.

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Cornell men’s basketball makes statement with convincing win over Princeton

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Statement made.

If someone predicted that Cornell men’s basketball would beat Princeton in Ithaca, most wouldn’t be overly surprised. That’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon.

But what may have surprised people is the way the Big Red did it.

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Cornell men’s basketball holds off Brown second-half rally, 84-83

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On Monday, Brown men’s basketball built up a big second half lead at Harvard and held on in the final minute for a two-point win. Five days later, however, the Bears found itself on the other end of that formula and came up one-point short against Cornell in an 84-83 defeat at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Big Red (13-3, 3-0 Ivy), winners of three straight league contests for the first time since their Sweet 16 2009-10 season, finished the day tied with Princeton and Yale at the top of the Ancient Eight standings, while the Bears (5-13, 1-2) were knotted in fourth place with Harvard and Penn.

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Cornell men’s basketball’s defense, tighter rotation stepped up in win over Penn

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Down 31-28 at the half, the shots just weren’t falling for Cornell men’s basketball at Newman Arena against Penn on Monday. When a team like the Big Red live and die with offense, 36% shooting wasn’t going to cut it against a Quakers squad that rolled Dartmouth by 29 in its conference opener.

But Cornell went on to make 10 triples in the second stanza as it defeated the visitors, 77-60.

Senior guard Chris Manon stuffed the stat sheet for the hosts — recording 16 points, eight rebounds and finishing with five helpers. He swatted a pair of shots and came up with four steals. Junior forward Guy Ragland Jr. had an efficient afternoon, scoring 16 points off 6-for-10 shooting in front of 1,462 at Newman. Senior guard Isaiah Gray and junior guard Nazir Williams each poured in 10 while senior forward Keller Boothby knocked down three triples.

Here’s are two things we learned after Cornell improved to 2-0 in the Ivy League:

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Three players to watch for Cornell men’s basketball heading into Ivy League play

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Cornell men’s basketball huddles up at Baylor’s Foster Pavilion Tuesday. (Photo by Noah Weber)

Cornell men’s basketball headed into Tuesday night’s out-of-conference matchup against the No. 18 Baylor Bears with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The Big Red were sitting at 10-2 on the year and playing their best basketball of the season as of late. Heading into its matchup with Baylor, Cornell had won seven of its last eight games.

Although Cornell fell 98-79 at Baylor Tuesday, there is still plenty to be excited about if you’re a Big Red fan. Here are three players to watch heading into conference play: 

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