HAMILTON – Colgate ran into a buzzsaw in its first home game in nearly a month as Cornell shot 60 percent in the first half to build a double-digit lead it never relinquished in an 84-57 decision Wednesday night at Cotterell Court. 

Colgate dropped its third consecutive game to fall to 2-7 on the season. Cornell with its fourth straight win in the head-to-head series improved to 5-3 on the year. 

COACH LANGEL'S COMMENTS

"Cornell played like we've come accustomed to knowing Cornell to play. They got open three-point shots and shots at the basket on back cuts. Twenty-six assists on 33 field goals is exactly counter to what our game plan was. Our inexperience really showed itself because it didn't look like we prepared for the game at all, and that falls on me. That's my responsibility to prepare the team to play. Nobody feels bad for us. What this program has been built on is guys that come to work every single day and that's a high priority.  

"We've gotta find the identity of the game and compete like crazy. It's offense to defense. It's attention to detail on both ends of a court. It's playing a connected brand of basketball that we've all become accustomed to as Colgate basketball fans. We have a lot of work to get back to that standard."

HOW IT HAPPENED

The game was tied 10-10 when Cornell hit another gear. A steal in full-court press led to an immediate 3-pointer and that sparked a 19-4 blitz for the Big Red, who built a 29-14 lead on the heels of a red-hot 6-of-9 start from behind the arc. Cooper Noard had nine of those points on 3-for-3 from long range.

The Big Red were scoring early and often, tallying 12 assists before their first turnover. Brady Cummins' driving layup cut it to a 16-point game, 46-30, but Colgate couldn't find answers defensively. Guy Ragland Jr. and Noard hit back-to-back treys to expand Cornell's lead to 22 points at halftime, 54-32.

Cornell's 54 points were tied for most points scored in the first half against a Colgate team led by head coach Matt Langel. Baylor scored 54 in the first half of last year's NCAA tournament game and The Citadel matched that mark way back in 2016 in a 108-101 track meet. 

Nicolas Louis-Jacques swished a pair of 3-pointers and then back–to-back layups from Cooper Wright and Julian Scott trimmed the deficit to 66-49 midway through the second half. The Big Red halted the run there, and another 3-pointer from DJ Nix pushed their lead back to 71-51 with 8:51 remaining.

Colgate couldn't get it going and Cornell kept the throttle down, extending its lead and cruising to the 84-57 final score – Colgate's largest losing margin at home since a 79-49 loss to American in 2008. 

Cummins, Sam Wright, and Louis-Jacques paced four Raiders in double-figures with 11 points apiece. Jalen Cox finished with 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and a steal in the balanced effort. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 

• Colgate shot 42.9 percent overall (24-56), 25 percent from behind the arc (5-20), and 80 percent from the free throw line (4-5). Cornell finished 57.9 percent from the field (33-57), 48.1 percent from three-point range (13-27), and 71.4 percent from the foul line (5-7). 
• Cornell won the battle on the glass 31-27 and had 26 assists on 33 made field goals. The Raiders had 14 turnovers, allowing Cornell to outscore Colgate 21-6 in points off turnovers. 

UP NEXT
Colgate (2-7) heads to Boston for a matchup at Northeastern (6-3) on Sunday at 2 p.m.