Columbia
CORNELL
In Front of Capacity Crowd at Levien Gym, Cornell Pulls Away from Men's Basketball
1/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK -- In front of 2,974 fans at Levien Gym, Cornell looked like a top 25 team in a 77-51 win over Columbia as the Lions made just 23 percent of their shots to open a stretch of five straight Ivy League games at home.
Cornell jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead on a three-pointer by Geoff Reeves at the 14:30 mark as the Big Red made five threes in the first half.
Niko Scott scored the next five points for Columbia, sandwiched around a pair of Louis Dale free throws, to shrink the Cornell lead to 14-9 with 13 mnutes left in the half.
Cornell then went on an 11-2 run, capped by a three-pointer from NBA range by Ryan Wittman, giving Cornell a 25-11 lead. The Big Red would lead by double figures the rest of the way, and led 37-23 at halftime.
Despite getting open looks, Columbia had a number of shots spin in and out and could not mount a consistent offensive flow. Columbia got as close as 17 points in the second half as Cornell made 51.7 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.
Dale led Cornell with 16 points, while Reeves added 13 off the bench and Wittman had 11. After he posted a double-double last week, Columbia limited Cornell big man Jeff Foote to eight points and five rebounds.
Ten different players scored for Columbia, paced by 10 points from Niko Scott. Noruwa Agho and Asenso Ampim added eight points each and Patrick Foley had seven in his first game in nearly three weeks after suffering an injury earlier this month.
The Lions will continue their run at Levien Gym on Friday, January 29 when they will host Harvard in a 7 p.m. tilt.
NOTES:
- It was a standing-room only crowd on Pack the House night at Levien Gymnasium. In the opener of the doubleheader, the Columbia women defeated Cornell 68-47. The game's attendance represented Columbia's largest crowd at Levien Gym in more than five years.
- For the second straight game, Columbia controlled the offensive glass, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds to Cornell's 11.
- Columbia's 2008-09 Ivy League champions and the student-athletes and mentors in Columbia's Leaders for Life program were recognized in a halftime ceremony.
