WAVERLY – Cornell's men's basketball team rallied from 25 points down in the second half, but couldn't complete a big comeback against undefeated Northwestern in Saturday's 75-71 loss at the Buzz Levick Tournament.
 
The Rams (2-3) had a long ways to go, trailing 53-28 with less than 12 minutes to play in regulation. Cornell charged back and pulled within 64-59 on a 3-pointer by Jayden Meeker, who netted 21 of his game-high 22 points after intermission.
 
Dylan Hurley's putback trimmed the deficit to 72-68 with 17 seconds left. Northwestern (5-0) hit three free throws down the stretch to hold off the Rams.
 
Meeker buried four 3-pointers and went 6-of-7 from the foul line. The junior also had five rebounds and four assists.
 
Julian Cleary also had a big game, tossing in a career-high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Zach Ingle chipped in 10 points and Ben Kmak added nine off the bench.
 
Connor Barnett collected eight rebounds and four assists for the Rams, who trailed 34-18 at the half.  
 
Coming up – The Rams are home Nov. 25 for a 6 p.m. nonconference matchup with Simpson.