Men’s basketball (3-1, 0-0 Ivy) entered Tuesday’s contest against La Salle (4-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10) having won its first two games of the season, blowing out Marywood, 93-52, and winning a close game against Samford, 88-86.
The Red kept pace with La Salle’s strong shooting throughout much of the first half, but turnovers posed a challenge, with the Explorers recording 24 points off turnovers compared to Cornell’s nine, leading to a convincing 93-77 win for LaSalle.
The first 10 minutes were relatively even, with both teams putting up 21 points. Senior guard Nazir Williams and senior forward Ryan Kiachian combined for 10 of the 21, taking advantage of an aggressive defensive which led to opportunities at the free-throw line.
Cornell would then take a small lead, before surrendering it to guard Deuce Jones and the Explorer offense. Jones racked up seven points to close out the half as La Salle climbed to an eight-point lead.
The Red continued to fall behind after halftime, with La Salle scoring seven straight to open the second 20 minutes. LaSalle’s Corey McKeithan took over in the second half, scoring 17 of a game-high 25 points and burying Cornell’s hopes of a comeback.
Following the defeat, the Red traveled home for a marquee matchup on Saturday afternoon against Lafayette (1-3, 0-0 Patriot). In what looked to be a tight matchup, the Red took advantage of hot shooting, going seven for 11 from beyond the arc in the second half to cruise to an 81-71 victory.
Senior forward Guy Ragland Jr. led the game with 16 points, followed by teammates sophomore guard Jake Fiegen and junior forward AK Okereke recording 15 and 14 respectively.
Defensively, Ragland Jr. secured 10 rebounds to lead all players, and sophomore guard Jacob Beccles’ three steals were prominent as the Red forced 16 turnovers throughout the game.
The win puts the Red at 3-1, the same record as last season’s first four games. Cornell will look to build off the victory as it faces off against Robert Morris at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Newman Arena. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.