MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's men's basketball team played with the lead for nearly the entire 40 minutes of regulation, although was unable to put away Midwest Conference foe Ripon in a 55-50 overtime loss at Weiske Gymnasium.  
 
Cornell (13-9 overall, 7-6 MWC) settled for a regular-season split with the Red Hawks (11-11 overall, 8-5 MWC), despite a strong defensive effort that limited Ripon to 27.1-percent shooting from the field.
 
The Rams dropped to fifth place in the MWC race with three games to go. They are now one game behind fourth-place Ripon.
 
Seniors Jayden Meeker (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Dylan Hurley (10 points, 13 rebounds) both turned in double-doubles for the Rams, who never trailed in the second half.
 
Meeker passed Abe Tubbs (1991-94) for 12th place on Cornell's career scoring list with 1,248 points.
 
Zach Ingle tossed in a game-high 13 points. He connected for three 3-pointers and became the program's all-time leader for career 3-point attempts with 601, jumping Griffin LaDew (2005-09).  
 
Cornell led 38-29 with less than six minutes to play in regulation. A free throw by Hurley gave the Rams a 43-37 cushion with 1:17 remaining. The Red Hawks hit a pair of 3-pointers late, including the tying shot with 15 seconds left that ultimately forced overtime.
 
In overtime, the Rams pulled within 51-50 on a conventional 3-point play from Connor Barnett with 44 seconds left. Ripon answered with a field goal on the next possession and then sealed the win with two free throws in the final seconds.  
 
Cornell endured a tough shooting night, going 4-of-27 from 3-point range and 8-of-18 from the foul line. The Red Hawks made 12-of-15 free throws.
 
Coming up – The Rams travel to play Lawrence (6-16 overall, 4-9 MWC) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Appleton, Wis. Cornell won the first matchup, 82-73.