Joseph Girard III scored a game-high 19 points and Judah Mintz added 14 to boost Syracuse to a 78-63 victory against visiting Cornell on Saturday afternoon in Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse (8-4) extended its winning streak against Cornell to 42 games while handing the Big Red their 40th straight loss to an ACC opponent.
Cornell (7-3) has only fallen to competition from that conference, losing by two points at Boston College in the season opener and by two points at No. 25 Miami on Dec. 7.
The Orange seized control of what had been a tight game by scoring 19 of the first 25 points after halftime. Cornell started the second half in a 2-for-18 shooting drought, misfiring on 12 straight field goal attempts at one point.
Syracuse capitalized with crisp ball movement and efficient shooting inside the arc. Benny Williams and Jesse Edwards both made their first three attempts from the field in the second half, helping the Orange outscore the Big Red 41-26 after halftime.
Nazir Williams paced Cornell with 12 points, connecting on four of the team’s 13 made 3-pointers. He received little help as the Big Red finished just 27.1 percent from distance.
Cornell’s Sean Hansen added 11 points and seven rebounds and Greg Dolan had 10 assists.
Edwards had a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds for Syracuse, which also received double-figure scoring efforts from Chris Bell (13 points) and Williams (12).
Syracuse trailed from the start but closed the first half on a 23-12 run to pull even. Bell’s layup at the 19:42 mark of the second half gave the Orange their first lead of the afternoon.
Girard III led all scorers with 15 points in the first half as the teams entered intermission tied at 37 apiece. Cornell shot 44.1 percent in the first half compared to 43.3 percent for Syracuse.
The Big Red drilled their first two 3-point attempts in the first 1:39 and led by as many as 11 points with 8:47 remaining before halftime.
–Field Level Media
