EASTON, Pa.- Lafayette men's basketball held its own against Cornell until the final minutes, dropping a 79-71 contest on Saturday afternoon in Kirby Sports Center.

The Leopards' top performance came through Kyle Jenkins, who totaled 16 points, five rebounds, three steals and an assist. Devin Hines (12) and Eric Sondberg (10) also scored in double figures. Sondberg grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

The Big Red made 19-of-22 free throws, while the Leopards took nine from the charity stripe.

Both programs battled to the 13-minute mark as Cornell edged Lafayette with a 12-8 run, taking an 15-11 lead. The Big Red used seven points from Guy Ragland to fuel the stretch.

Beginning at 9:17, Jenkins bookended a 12-2 Leopard run with a pair of 3-pointers, to take the lead, 23-20 at 7:34.

Cornell retaliated with a 12-5 run to 4:23 led by Cooper Noard's six points on two shots from beyond the arc.

A final 9-7 Big Red stretch, closed out with Adam Tsang Hinton's 3-pointer, gave Cornell a 41-35 advantage at halftime. Junior guard Devin Hines had five points for the Leopards in that time, adding to his team-best 12 points going into the locker room.

Lafayette broke open the second half with a 10-6 run, creeping within two points, 47-45 at 17:04. Jenkins netted back-to-back 3-pointers in the span, both assisted by freshman Mark Butler, who had a game-high five assists on the afternoon.

Cornell's Keller Boothby scored a 3-pointer to keep the Big Red afloat, 51-45 at the 16-minute mark.

The Maroon and White continued on an offensive barrage, using five players to make a 13-11 run to 8:58, trailing by four, 62-58.

Lafayette kept within five points of the Big Red for the following six minutes as both programs traded buckets. Five of Cornell's points were free throws in that span, leading 69-64 (6:24).

The Big Red were held to six throws from the charity stripe down to 2:16, four by Isaiah Gray and two by Sean Hansen. Butler's driving layup-and one to end the stretch attempted to close the 77-71 gap at 2:09.

Cornell's Nazir Williams scored a layup at 1:05 to complete a 79-71 final.

Hansen led the Big Red with 19 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the field.

Cornell out-rebounded the Leopards 40-32. The Leopards forced 20 Cornell turnovers.

The Leopards face a second Ivy League opponent, Columbia, on Tuesday. Tip-off in New York is slated for 7 p.m.

 
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