NEW YORK — First-year Jack Forrest led Columbia men's basketball with a career and game-high 23 points as the Lions built a commanding 19-point halftime lead and cruised to a 75-61 victory over Cornell in its Ivy League opener Saturday evening at Levien Gymnasium.
 
The game marked the first Ivy League contest for both teams. Columbia improves to 6-11 on the year and 1-0 in Ivy League play, while Cornell drops to 3-10 overall and 0-1 in league play.
 
Forrest notched career-highs for field goals made (10) and field goal attempts (15) and also hit 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He scored 20 or more points for the second consecutive game as he finished with a previous career-high of 20 points vs. the Mount Saint Vincent on Jan. 9. Forrest has now reached double-figure scoring in each of his last three games played.
 
Two other Lions scored in double-figures, including Mike Smith, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Tai Bibbs scored 10 points, while Ike Nweke pitched in nine points and Joseph Smoyer added seven points, all in the first half.
 
Columbia outscored Cornell 21-6 over the final 6:17 of the first half while the Big Red was held without a field goal for the final 6:40 of the frame.
 
The Lions took control of the game with a back-breaking 11-0 run before halftime. Smith started the run with a driving layup, followed that up with a 3-point play off a layup and free throw. A Randy Brumant block led to a run-out layup from Forrest, Tai Bibbs added a jumper and Forrest converted a jumper to give Columbia a 15-point lead with 3:28 to play in the first half. Before the run, Joseph Smoyer finished off a 3-point play as the Lions outscored the Big Red 14-3 over a key five-minute span.
 
Columbia finished off its dominant half by scoring the final five points to push the lead to 48-29 at halftime. When the dust settled, the Lions shot a scorching 61.3 percent (19-of-31) and hit five 3-pointers in the first half, while Cornell had converted just 25.0 percent of its field goals (7-of-28) and 3-of-12 from downtown.
 
In the second half, Cornell used a 6-0 run to trim Columbia's lead down to 10 on a Terrance McBride jumper with 13:49 to play, but that was as close as the Big Red could get. The Lions quickly answered with a deep Forrest trey and Ike Nweke turnaround layup.
 
Later, a 12-0 run, fueled by seven points from Forrest, extended Columbia's lead to 64-42 with 9:01 to play.
 
Cornell was led by McBride's 17 points and Jimmy Boeheim's 14 points. The Big Red were held to just 33.9 percent (20-59) from the floor and 20 percent (5-25) from 3-point range.
 
The Lions will conclude the regular season series with the Big Red next Saturday, January 25, at 4 p.m. in Ithaca. Fans can watch the action live on ESPN+.
 
Tickets for upcoming home games are available by visiting gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11.

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