Men’s basketball played a tale of two halves on Monday night when it visited Breslin Center to take on No. 9 Michigan State, ultimately losing 114-97 and plagued by foul trouble after a strong first-half performance.
The first-half started strong with the Red (6-6, 0-0 Ivy) taking a 15-4 lead against the Spartans (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten). Senior guards Cooper Noard and Jake Fiegen spearheaded the buckets made, scoring 15 points a piece. The Red were hot on 3-pointers — coming into the match, Cornell led the country in 3-pointers made per game at 14.2 — and by the end of the second half, it was six for 16 on shots beyond the arc.
Michigan State answered with guard Jeremy Fears Jr. leading the charge with a three followed by forward Coen Carr energizing the offense with a pair of dunks.
Cornell held the lead for most of the half, and with less than six minutes before halftime, the Spartans took its first lead, 37-35. The teams traded buckets as the Red continued to hit timely shots and Michigan State countered with offensive rebounds and attacks.
A layup from Fiegen in the final 46 seconds gave the Red a lead that was taken away by a last-second layup from Fears Jr. at the buzzer, sending the Spartans into halftime holding a slim 55-53 advantage, after allowing its most first-half points since 2017.
Despite the close game, discipline in the paint was an issue for Cornell, as the team committed 15 fouls in the first-half.
To open the second-half, Noard scored a 3-pointer, giving Cornell a 56-55 lead. But the Spartans would overwhelm the Red in the second-half, outscoring them 32-12 in the first 10 minutes.
Michigan State did not give up its lead in the second-half, with Fears Jr. contributing 21 points and 11 assists. The Red’s troubles from the first-half persisted as the team committed an additional 20 fouls, with junior forward Kaspar Sepp, sophomore forward Gioacchino Panzini and junior guard DaMaryon Fishburn fouling out. In total, the Spartans were handed 43 attempts as a result of Cornell’s fouls and made 29.
The Red continued its 3-pointer shooting spree but went three for 22, good for a little under 14 percent in the first 15 minutes. Michigan State this time dominated the 3-point shots, taking 28 attempts from beyond the arc and making 13 of them. Cornell notably gave up the highest number of points since its 81-116 loss to Georgia Tech in 2015.
The Red will face Alfred State College at 2 p.m. on Friday in Newman Arena to begin a three game homestead. All the action will be available on ESPN+.
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the features editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and was the assistant sports editor of the 143rd Editorial Board. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
