ITHACA, N.Y. – Yale saw first-hand why Cornell is one of top offensive teams in the nation. The Big Red shot 51 percent from the field and made 13 three-pointers in a 94-82 victory over the Bulldogs at Newman Arena.
Yale (11-6) had the lead for most of the first 30 minutes, but Cornell used a 17-0 run midway through the second half to seize control.
Bez Mbeng scored a career-high 21 points to pace the Bulldogs. He was 7-of-7 from the field, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers.
John Poulakidas added 12 points and
Matt Knowling scored 11.
Yale matched the high-powered Big Red for much of the game. The Bulldogs shot nearly 59 percent but committed 16 turnovers, which led to 17 Cornell points.
Nazir Williams scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half to lead the Big Red (13-4). Greg Dolan had 14 points, and Guy Ragland Jr. contributed 12.
Yale played a strong first half, shooting 19-of-28 (67.9 percent) from the field in building a 49-43 lead. Mbeng scored 15 of his points in the opening 20 minutes but was limited by foul trouble in the second half.
Cornell was 31-of-34 from the free throw line in the game.
Yassine Gharram had a strong game off the bench for the Bulldogs, finishing with nine points and six assists in 25 minutes.
EJ Jarvis also scored nine points, while
August Mahoney and
Isaiah Kelly had eight apiece.
The Big Red entered the game averaging 83.2 points, which led the Ivy League and was 12th nationally. Yale, meanwhile, was ninth in the country in scoring defense.
The Bulldogs play their next three games in the friendly confines of the John J. Lee Amphitheater. The first is Monday against Brown at 5 p.m.
