ITHACA, N.Y.– Cornell's Jake Fiegen hit a three-pointer with eight-tenths of a second left to lift the Big Red men's basketball team to an 88-86 win over Samford Friday evening at Newman Arena.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 1-1 on the young season. Cornell improved to 2-0 with the victory.
 
For Samford in the loss, Collin Holloway had 21 points and six rebounds. Rylan Jones had 16 points and five assists for the Bulldogs. Julian Brown and Trey Fort added 14 points each for Samford.
 
Cornell was led by Fiegen with 21 points. A.K. Okereke had 16 points for the Big Red. Guy Ragland posted a double-double for Cornell with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Samford got off to a fast start, racing out to a 9-0 lead with 17:21 to go in the first half following a three-pointer by Fort. Cornell fought back to cut the lead to four points at 11-7 at the 14:53 mark in the first half after a three-pointer by Fiegen. With 11:04 to go in the half, Samford stretched its lead to 18-9 after another three-pointer by Fort.
 
Cornell answered with a 13-0 run to take a 22-18 lead with 8:57 to go in the opening period after a layup by Adam Hinton. Cornell stretched its lead to 10 points at 31-21 with 7:33 left in the half following a layup by Nazir Williams. Samford came back to cut the lead to 34-32 with 4:32 to go in the half after a pair of free throws by Brown. Cornell pushed the lead back out to 10 points at 47-37 with 1:43 left in the half after a layup by Okereke. Cornell took a 50-39 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Bulldogs cut the Cornell leads to six points at 52-46 with 17:21 left after a layup by Holloway. Cornell pushed the lead back out to 10 points at 60-50 with 14:13 to go following a three-pointer by D.J. Nix. The Bulldogs cut the lead to five at 60-55 at the 12:59 mark after a driving layup by Fort. The Bulldogs took the lead at 64-63 with 10:29 to play after two free throws by Holloway.
 
The Big Red fought back to take a 69-64 lead with 9:40 to go after two free throws by Williams. Samford scored the next five points to knot the score at 69-69 on a three-pointer by Jones with 8:17 to play. Cornell took a 79-76 lead, but Samford scored the next six points to take an 82-79 lead with 2:10 to go after a hook shot by Jaden Brownell.
 
With Samford leading, 86-83, Okereke hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 86-85 with just 47 seconds left. After Samford was unable to score on its next possession, Cornell's Cooper Noard missed a three-pointer, but Okereke grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it out to Fiegen for the game-winning three-pointer to give Cornell the 88-86 win.
 
Samford will return home to play host to Rhodes College on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The game is set for a 6:30 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.
 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS
For the latest news and information on Samford men's basketball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordMBB (Twitter), and @SamfordMBB (Instagram).