Gamecenter: Cornell 68, William & Mary 73 (OT)

	1st	2nd	OT	Final
Cornell (4-4)	30	32	6	61
William & Mary (3-3)	25	37	11	73


Kaplan Arena – Williamsburg, VA	Boxscore

Keys to the Game
Key sequence	Cornell had been great at minimizing turnovers this season, but it fell apart under pressure. Boasting a 13-point lead with less than five minutes left on the clock, the Big Red committed turnovers on four of its next five possessions — including three straight by freshman Ryan Wittman — as Tribe guard Adam Payton keyed a string of 10 unanswered points that got William & Mary to within 59-58 with under a minute left. Jason Battle hit a pair of free throws and Andrew Naeve got one of two to stem the tide and put Cornell up four with 28 seconds left. But after a Nathan Trumbower three-pointer, Payton came up with another steal and hit one of two free throws to knot the game at 62-62. The Big Red had 14 seconds to get off the game-winning shot, but Battle was called for a charge with two ticks on the clock, sending the game to overtime.
Key sign it was over	Trailing by two with under two minutes left in the extra session, Battle had a look at a potential game-tying layup, but couldn’t get it to drop. Cornell got the ball back out of bounds, but Naeve was called for an offensive foul. Still, the Big Red got the stop it needed in the form of a Conor Mullen steal with 53 seconds left. However, Wittman couldn’t find the bottom of the net with a jumper with 24 seconds remaining, and Cornell fouled Payton, who hit both free throws. A Battle layup gave the Big Red a fighting chance, down two with 9 seconds left. Cornell caught a break when Payton missed the first free throw and could only make it a three-point game by hitting the second. Battle had a look at a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds, but couldn’t get it to fall and the Tribe controlled the rebound. Laimis Kisielius put away the game at the line with two free throws with just one second left.
Key performance	Payton made all the big plays down the stretch at both ends of the court. His final line isn’t particularly eye-popping — 10 points, two rebounds, one assist, and three steals in 34 minutes — but he came up big when it counted.
Key statistic	William & Mary had 24 free throw attempts, compared to just 11 for Cornell, and the Tribe hit 16 of those free throws, to nine for the Big Red. 22 of William & Mary’s attempts came after halftime, with the charity stripe playing a huge role in the Tribe’s rally late in regulation and its ability to hold on to the lead at the end of the overtime period.

Notes

– Battle led Cornell with 21 poitns on 7-of-10 shooting, while William & Mary reserve Laimis Kisielius matched him with 21 points off the bench.

– The Big Red continued to struggle on the glass, rebounding at just 26.9 percent offensively, while the Tribe collected 38.9 percent of the rebounds at its end. William & Mary outscored its guests 11-4 in second-chance points.

– Cornell led almost the entire way until the end of regulation, trailing for only 1:32 prior to overtime.

– The Tribe bench outscored its Big Red counterparts 50 to 9.

– Steve Donahue went with a four-guard lineup, sending out Graham Dow, Louis Dale, Battle, and Wittman alongside Naeve in the starting five.

– The Big Red now has a two-week layoff before hosting tough-luck Bucknell (2-5) at Newman Arena on Saturday, December 16 at 3:30 pm ET.

Basketball U.

Gamecenter: Cornell 68, William & Mary 73 (OT)

Jake Wilson

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Basketball U.

Basketball U.

Jake Wilson

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Basketball U.