Men’s basketball (13-7, 5-2 Ivy) took the court against Yale (14-6, 7-0 Ivy) at Newman Arena on Saturday in hopes of taking over first place in the Ivy League standings.
Facing a strong all-around Yale team which leads the Ivy League with 69 points per game allowed and the highest point differential of 13.5 points per game, the Red looked to dethrone the reigning Ivy League champions. A tight first 15 minutes turned into a collapse, leaving Cornell attempting to catch up throughout the rest of the game.
The game began as advertised, with the Red and Bulldogs trading baskets. Junior guard Cooper Noard scored five of Cornell’s first seven points, draining a three-pointer before scoring an easy layup off of an assist from senior forward Guy Ragland Jr. For Yale, John Poulakidas continued his impressive offensive efforts, scoring 11 points in the first 10 minutes.
The back and forth continued as the Red and Bulldogs knocked down three-pointers, accumulating a total of 15 on 50 percent shooting throughout the first half. Junior guard Adam Hinton and junior forward AK Okereke’s efforts fueled Cornell’s ability to keep pace with Yale, with the two combining for 19 points.
With about five minutes remaining and the Bulldogs leading 38-36, Okereke connected with a three-pointer, his tenth point of the half to put the Red on top for the moment. A layup by sophomore guard Jacob Beccles and a three-pointer from Noard extended the lead, before the Bulldogs quickly drove for layups of their own to tie it up at 44 apiece.
Unfortunately for the Red, the first-half points ceased at the four-minute mark, with two turnovers and seven straight missed shots leading to a 12-0 Yale run. Poulakidas hit two three-pointers of his own, while Nick Townsend scored four points, making his way to the free throw and growing the halftime lead to 54-44.
Yale’s hot shooting continued at the start of the second half as a Poulakidas jumper followed by a dunk by 6’10” Samson Aletan. Okereke finally broke the scoring drought for the Red, with a layup pushing his total to 12 points on the day.
For the Red, the first-half collapse was too much to make up, with the Bulldogs offense connecting on 67 percent of their field goals and 46 percent behind the arc in the second 20 minutes. As Yale continued to grow the lead, a three-pointer from Noard at the 15-minute mark cut the margin to 11 points, but the momentum did not carry on very far. In a quick three-minute sprint, the Bulldogs got multiple stops and hit shots to lengthen the advantage to 21 points.
From there, the Red’s opportunities to come back in the game dwindled. Despite Noard’s career-high 28 points, Yale continued to keep its foot on the gas and did not let up, surging to a 103-88 victory.
The loss ruined Cornell's opportunity to take the top spot in the Ivy League standings. It will look to bounce back in a matchup on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. when the Red travels to face off against Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This game can be streamed live on ESPN+.
