MOUNT VERNON – It was a tale of two halves in Friday's annual men's basketball rivalry game at the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
Cornell built a seven-point lead at intermission, but it was all Coe in the second half as the Kohawks ran away with a 90-78 season-opening victory.
The comeback offset outstanding individual efforts by Cornell seniors
Zach Ingle and
Dylan Hurley, who combined for 54 points with career-high scoring nights. Ingle led all scorers with 28 points on the strength of 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. He also made all six of his free throw attempts.
Hurley dominated early, netting 19 of his 26 points in the first half. He sank 9-of-12 field goals and went 8-of-10 from the foul line.
The Rams (0-1) led by as many as 10 points in the opening half and took a 42-35 advantage into the break. The Kohawks (1-0), an NCAA Tournament team a season ago, sprinted ahead with an 18-4 run to start the second half and didn't trail the rest of the way.
The Kohawks shot 60.7 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes and made a living from the foul line, hitting 33-of-39 free throws for the game.
Ingle and Hurley shared team-high honors with six rebounds apiece. Hurley also dished five assists.
Nate Jacobson pitched in eight points off Cornell's bench.
Coming up – The Rams are back home Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff against Eureka.
