Dec. 20, 2008

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Kimmani Barrett scored 18 points and pulled down 12 boards for his first double-double of the season, but Cornell came away with the 79-70 non-conference win on Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y.

The Explorers built a 38-27 lead and never trailed in the first half. They pushed it to as many as 14 in the beginning of the second stanza, but Cornell's Ryan Wittman and Jeff Foote led a storming comeback for the home team.

Wittman nailed a jumper with 17:33 remaining and followed up with a free throw and both Wittman and Foote drained three-pointers to cut the La Salle lead to five.

The Big Red went ahead for the first time in the game at the 11:11 mark on a jumper by Geoff Reeves.

The Explorers and Big Red played back-and-forth ball for the next six minutes with the Explorers' last lead coming at 5:25 when Paul Johnson made two free throws to make the score 61-60.

The contest was all Cornell from that point on as the Big Red went ahead on Foote free throws and a Reeves score. The Big Red led by as much as 12 points with 23 seconds remaining in the game.

The Explorers continued to provide offense as four players again scored in double figures. In addition to Barrett's 18, Rodney Green netted 12 and Jerrell Williams and Ruben Guillandeaux added 11 each.

Foote led all scorers with 25 points, while Wittman added 18 and Louis Dale put in 14.

The Explorers return home to Tom Gola Arena on Tuesday (12/23) for a 7:00 PM contest with Mount St. Mary's.