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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After two losses at home to start the Ivy League campaign, it was time for some soul-searching for the Cornell men’s basketball team, as the Big Red look to qualify for their fifth straight Ivy Madness, this time on their home floor.
In a matchup Saturday between the Ivy men’s best three-point shooting team, Cornell, and the league’s best perimeter defense, Dartmouth, the Big Red turned in one of their worst long-range shooting games of the season, falling by a 102-91 margin.
In a game of runs with 12 lead changes, the Columbia men’s basketball team flipped a nine-point deficit midway through the second half into a nine-point advantage entering crunch time against Cornell and cruised to a 104-99 victory in both teams’ Ivy League opener Monday.
The story of this Cornell men’s basketball season begins, as it has each of the past several seasons, at the three-point line. The Big Red lead the nation averaging 14.2 three-point field goals made as of Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Cornell kicked off the month of December with a three-game losing skid in which it conceded 90+ points each game. Only 15 Division I men’s basketball teams are currently allowing more points per outing than the Red. Entering Sunday’s matchup at Albany, the defense had been struggling especially in the second half.
Cornell got the season back on track with an 83-75 victory against the Great Danes, overcoming a mediocre start to do so.
No Nazir Williams, no problem.
Despite missing the standout sophomore guard due to injury, the Cornell men preserved and overcame a difficult perimeter shooting afternoon to defeat Brown, 80-73, Saturday at Newman Arena.
Cornell coach Brian Earl was forced to alter the starting lineup for the first time all season with Williams’ absence, inserting junior guard Chris Manon.
ITHACA, N.Y. — With 12:06 remaining, the Cornell men faced a 68-53 deficit to Yale and seemingly had no answers on the defensive end. The Bulldogs were shooting nearly 69% from the field and were dominating the interior.
But all of a sudden, something clicked for the Big Red. Cornell finished the game on a 41-14 mega-run to defeat the defending league champions 94-82 and move into solo second in the Ivy League.
“We don’t necessarily care being down a lot,” Cornell coach Brian Earl said. “Yale’s a great team. They scored on us a lot, but the waves of us coming and never stopping I felt was good. Our guys hung in there.”
