Cornell Lets 14 Point Lead Slip Away To Drexel
Cornell held a 33-19 lead early in the second half, but it was not enough in their 61-59 loss to Drexel. Cornell had four scorers in double digits, but could not overcome 28 points from Drexel’s Damion Lee.
Cornell began the game on a 10-4 run into the first TV timeout, but both teams went cold after that. The second TV timeout produced a score of 13-7 – just six points in four minutes of action. The last part of the half produced far more scoring with Cornell grabbing a 24-15 lead with over two minutes left. The Big Red took a 26-17 lead at the break with Devin Cherry as the leading scorer with 8 points. Cornell shot 10 of 26 from the field (38.5%) in the first half and were 3 of 9 from beyond the arc. Rodney Williams scored 7 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for Drexel in the first half. The Dragons shot only 18.2% from the field in the first half (6 of 33) and were 0 for 9 on three pointers.
The second half began with Cornell embarking on a 7-2 run to take a 33-19 lead and force a timeout from Drexel. The rest of the half was the Damion Lee show with him scoring 22 points in the final 17 minutes (24 total points in the second half). With 12 minutes left, Drexel got the game to 38-32 and would soon tie the game on at 41 on a three pointer from Rashann London. The Big Red went on an 8-2 lead to take a 49-43 lead with 4:20 left in the game. Drexel would forge ahead 53-52 with 95 seconds left before the Big Red would constantly foul the Dragons. Miller had a chance for the win but his three pointer was no good and Drexel held on for the 61-59 win.
Drexel was led by Damion Lee’s 24 second half points on 8 of 16 shooting and 6 of 7 free throws. The Dragons went 15 of 29 in the second half (51.7%), 3 of 7 on three pointers (42.9%), and 11 of 15 on free throws (73.3%). Cornell’s Galal Cancer had 9 points with Shonn Miller chipping in 8 points and 4 rebounds. The Big Red went 14 of 27 in the second half (51.9%), 2 of 7 from three point range (28.6%), and 3 of 7 from the free throw line (42.9%).
Drexel’s Damion Lee had 28 points on 9 of 24 shooting (2 of 8 on three pointers) and 8 of 10 from the charity stripe. Lee also grabbed 7 rebounds. Rodney Williams had 9 points and 14 rebounds and Rashann London had 9 points. The Dragons shot 21 of 62 for the game (33.9%) and were 3 of 16 from beyond the arc (18.8%). The Dragons went 16 of 22 from the free throw line (72.7%), out-rebounded Cornell 44-35, and committed only turnovers.
Shonn Miller had 13 points and 9 rebounds, Devin Cherry scored 11 points and grabbed 5 boards, Galal Cancer had 11 points, and Robert Hatter scored 10 points. The Big Red went 24 of 53 for the game (45.3%), 5 of 16 on three pointers (31.3%), and 6 of 13 on free throws (46.2%). The Big Red had 5 blocks and committed 14 turnovers.
Drexel (1-4) has a week off before facing Southern Miss (2-1) on Sunday, November 30. Cornell (2-4) faces Canisius (2-1) at home on Wednesday night after going 0-3 at the Charleston Classic.
Columbia Stifles Lehigh In Low Scoring Affair
It was not pretty by any means, but Columbia got the job done by holding Lehigh to 30.2% from the field in the 54-44 victory. Jeff Coby had 16 points for the Lions.
As noted by the score, it was not a great offensive day for either team. Columbia was able to build up a 17-7 lead by the second media timeout and actually held a 25-11 lead with 9 minutes left in the first half. Columbia had a 29-19 lead with 4:29 left in the half and both teams went cold after that. 7 total points were scored in the final 4:29 with Columbia holding a 32-23 lead.
Jeff Coby had 10 first half points and 8 rebounds for Columbia with Maodo Lo scoring 9 points. The Lions shot 13 of 31 from the field (41.9%) and 5 of 15 from beyond the arc (31.2%). Lehigh was led by Kahron Ross and Miles Simelton both with 6 points. They went 10 of 32 as a team (31.2%) and missed all 7 three pointers.
Lehigh tried to cut into the deficit during the second half but could only get as close as 5 points early in the second half. At 34-29, Lehigh was within striking distance and the Mountain Hawks kept it around that deficit until late in the second half. However, they could not get it below that mark and four free throws by Columbia in the final minute made it 54-44 at the buzzer.
Scoring was at a premium for both teams with Columbia’s top second half scorer at 6 points. Again, that was Coby just as it was in the first half. Steve Frankoski and Cory Osetkowski both had 5 points. The Lions went 7 of 22 from the field (31.8%) and were just 1 of 11 from beyond the arc (9.1%). They went 7 of 13 from the free throw line (53.8%) and committed 9 turnovers. Tim Kempton had 11 second half points and 7 rebounds for Lehigh. They went 9 for 31 from the field (29%) and were 0 for 6 on three pointers. They hit 3 of 6 free throws and committed only 5 turnovers.
Columbia’s top scorer was Jeff Coby with 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting. Coby also grabbed 12 rebounds while Isaac Cohen had 6 points and 10 rebounds. Maodo Lo scored 9 points and grabbed 7 boards. The Lions went 20 of 53 for the game (37.7%), 6 of 27 on three pointers (22.2%), and made 8 of 18 free throws (44.4%). Columbia out-rebounded Lehigh 47 to 40, but committed 14 turnovers.
Tim Kempton led Lehigh in scoring with 15 points and also grabbed 10 boards. Kahron Ross had 10 points to be the second leading scorer for the Mountain Hawks. They went 19 of 63 from the field (30.2%) and missed all 13 of their three point attempts. Lehigh went 6 of 10 from the free throw line and kept their turnovers down to 7 for the game.
Columbia (2-1) will take on Fairleigh Dickinson (2-1) on Tuesday night. Lehigh (0-4) will go on the road Wednesday night searching for their first win at DePaul (2-0).
Yale Ends Men Against Breast Cancer Classic In Style
A halftime deficit of 32-24 was not a problem for Yale as they came back to win 66-59 over Kent State and end the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic 3-0.
Kent State took advantage of poor first half shooting from Yale to take a 22-9 lead with 9:11 left in the first half. The Bulldogs made a 7-0 run to close the deficit to 6 points. Both teams traded buckets to the end of the half with Kent State holding a 32-24 lead at halftime. Yale went 7 of 20 in the first half (35%) and 3 of 8 on three pointers (37.5%). Armani Cotton led Yale with 6 points and 3 rebounds. Kent State went 13 of 23 from the field (56.5%) and hit 2 of 4 three pointers. Jimmy Hall had 12 points to lead the Golden Flashes at the break.
The second half began perfectly for Yale. They went 3 for 3 and cut the deficit to two points at 34-32. They took their first second half lead at the 13:10 mark with the score 39-38. The game continued to be close with Yale holding a 50-46 lead with less than 7 minutes remaining. Kent State came back and took a 52-51 lead with 4:39 left and still held a 57-56 lead with 2:18 left. Back-to-back buckets from Matt Townsend gave Yale a one point advantage before the Bulldogs went 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.
Justin Sears and Matt Townsend led Yale with 10 second half points each. Sears also had 7 rebounds while Jack Montague had 8 points. The Bulldogs were excellent in the second half going 12 of 18 from the field (66.7%) and 3 of 5 from three point rage (60%). They also hit 15 of 19 free throws (78.9%). Jimmy Hall had 10 points for Kent State in the second half with Derek Jackson chipping in 8 points. Kent State went 9 of 25 in the second half (36%) and were 2 of 8 from beyond the arc (25%). The Golden Flashes committed only three turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs ended up with 5 scorers in double figures. Jack Montague had 13 points, Matt Townsend scored 12 points, Justin Sears scored 12 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Armani Cotton scored 11 points, and Javier Duren had 10 points. For the game, Yale went 19 of 38 from the field (50%) and 6 of 13 from three point range (46.2%). The Bulldogs went 22 of 27 from the free throw line (81.5%), had 5 blocks, and committed 15 turnovers.
Kent State’s top scorer was Jimmy Hall with 22 points and 5 rebounds on 10 of 16 shooting. Derek Jackson and Kris Brewer both had 9 points apiece. The Golden Flashes went 22 of 48 from the field (45.8%), 4 of 12 from beyond the arc (33.3%), and 11 of 18 from the charity stripe (61.1%). Kent State committed 10 turnovers in the loss.
Yale (4-1) will face Lafayette (3-1) in a big early season matchup on Wednesday night. Lafayette has already beaten fellow Ivy League members Princeton and Penn on the road. Kent State (4-1) will play their next game on Saturday against Loyola (IL) (2-1).