St. Joe’s struggles past Cornell

Playing its first game in 11 days, St. Joseph's shook off some rusty shooting tonight to overcome a 13-point deficit and beat Cornell, 71-67, at the Palestra.

The Hawks could not get a few early jumpers to fall, but they drained three three-pointers while scoring on four straight possessions late in the first half. That was enough to pull them back into the game, trailing by 33-32 at halftime.

Ahmad Nivins took control in the second half, scoring 16 of his season-high 26 points. He recorded his sixth double-double, adding 16 rebounds. Idris Hilliard also notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Darrin Govens hit several clutch shots and finished with 15 points. Ryan Wittman scored 16 to lead Cornell.

The win evened the Hawks' record at 5-5 while the Big Red dropped to 5-6.