Cornell led by six midway through the first half before St. Bonaventure took control inside, handing the Big Red an 88-64 loss Wednesday night at the Reilly Center in St. Bonaventure, New York.
Benjamin Bill scored 28 points on 13-for-15 shooting as the Bonnies outscored Cornell 60-28 in the paint, according to Cornell Athletics’ official recap. Cornell fell to 2-2, while St. Bonaventure improved to 2-1 with its second consecutive win.
First-half turnaround puts Cornell behind
The Big Red’s outside shooting provided an early opening. Ryan Burbach hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, the second putting Cornell ahead 13-11. Mateen Rafiq and Jax Abalos also connected from beyond the arc as Cornell built a 21-15 lead with 11:35 remaining in the first half.
St. Bonaventure outscored Cornell 33-10 from there to halftime. Ilia Ermakov’s 3-pointer gave the Bonnies a lead with 9:43 left, and Jacob Beccles briefly put Cornell back in front with a layup. Taj Au-Duke’s two free throws with 8:31 remaining gave St. Bonaventure the lead for good.
A subsequent 10-0 run, capped by Zach Philipkoski’s layup, pushed the margin to 32-23. Bill scored 12 points in the half, and the Bonnies went into the break ahead 48-31.
Anthony Nimani opened the second half with a 3-pointer for Cornell after missing Sunday’s win over Keuka. St. Bonaventure answered by scoring 14 of the next 17 points. Ari Fulton had consecutive dunks during that stretch, and the lead reached 62-37 with 14:58 remaining. The Bonnies eventually led by 29.
Gibson leads Big Red; Mateo scores first career points
Quinn Gibson led Cornell with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting and six rebounds. It was his fourth consecutive game leading the Big Red on the boards.
Beccles, Abalos and Sage Mateo each scored eight points. Mateo’s points were the first of his college career; he made two of four 3-point attempts in 10 minutes, including back-to-back makes 44 seconds apart in the second half.
Bill added six rebounds and four blocks for St. Bonaventure. Fulton finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, Au-Duke contributed 10 points and five assists, and Ermakov had nine points and three steals.
The Bonnies made just one of 12 attempts from 3-point range but shot 33-for-51 inside the arc. They held a 48-28 rebounding advantage, including a 14-8 edge on the offensive glass, and outscored Cornell 20-4 on fast breaks.
Cornell shot 38.5% overall and made 10 of 38 3-point attempts. The Big Red recorded 17 assists on 25 baskets, but St. Bonaventure converted their 11 turnovers into 14 points. The Bonnies also made 19 of 30 free throws, compared with Cornell’s four of eight.
UNC Greensboro visits Saturday
Cornell returns to Newman Arena to face UNC Greensboro at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. The game will stream on ESPN+.
Wednesday’s result tied Cornell’s series with St. Bonaventure at 8-8. The Bonnies have won five straight meetings; Cornell’s most recent victory in the series was a 58-54 win in Olean on Dec. 4, 2004.
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