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VESTAL, N.Y. – Senior Eitan Chemerinski scored 17 points and had a pair of key offensive rebounds in the final minute to help Cornell hold off a furious Binghamton rally to hang on for a 79-77 win on Sunday afternoon at the Events Center. The Big Red won its second straight road game to improve to 6-8, while the Bearcats slipped to 2-10.

Cornell led by as many as 22 points with 13 minutes remaining, then weathered a storm of 3-pointers by a Bearcat team that entered the night shooting just 28 percent from beyond the arc. Chemerinski made sure the Big Red wouldn't fold, grabbing an offensive rebound and putback and then grabbing another that led to a Galal Cancer free throw that sealed the game with eight seconds left.

Senior Johnathan Gray scored a team-high 18 points, including five 3-pointers, and grabbed six rebounds, while freshman Nolan Cressler and junior Dominick Scelfo each scored 14. Cressler added seven rebounds and three steals in the win, and the 14 points was a career high for Scelfo. Sophomore Shonn Miller rounded out the double figure scorers with 12 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Galal Cancer chipped in three steals and the game-sealing free throw and senior Miles Asafo-Adjei had five assists and just one turnover, giving him 11 assists and one turnover in his last two games. The Big Red shot 47 percent from the floor overall and connected on 11-of-31 from 3-point range. It held a dominant 28-3 edge in bench scoring and a 19-10 advantage in points off turnovers.

Binghamton got 23 points and 14 rebounds from impressive freshman Jordan Reed. Rayner Moquete added 19 pooints, while Jimmy GRay and Taylor Johnston each scored 14. The Bearcats shot 49 percent from the floor overall and made 11-of-20 3-pointers, good for 55 percent. Included was a red-hot 9-of-11 from beyond the arc (82 percent) after halftime to rally the home team.

It was nearly an identical start as Friday night's win at Saint Francis (Pa.), with the Big Red overwhelming its opponent with consistent pressure. Cornell raced out to a 10-point lead less than seven minutes in when Chemerinski scored the last of his five straight points. Cornell opened the game with a tough three-point play by Miller and Gray hit a long 3-pointer to build a 6-0 lead less than a minute in. Like Friday, Cornell would never trail.

Cornell pushed its first half lead to as many as 17 on three different occasions, the last time after Cressler hit a trey from the left wing on a feed from Asafo-Adjei to make it 41-24 with 49 seconds left before halftime. Cornell's lead entering the half was 15 as the Bearcats were limited to 31 percent shooting overall, including 2-of-9 from 3-point range.

For 27 minutes, Cornell did everything it wanted to do. Limit its own turnovers. Make open shots. Pressure the ball and force turnovers, leading to easy transition.

Then Binghamton started making shots, gaining confidence. As the lead dwindled, the crowd of more than 3,600 on a Sunday afternoon over a holiday weekend started to wake up. Trailing by 22 (55-33), it started with a Taylor Johnston 3-pointer. After the teams traded buckets, Reed hit a trey of his own. Reed then hit a pair of free throws. Johnston nailed another 3-pointer, then a third in short order to make it a 13-point game. Moquete hit one, then Gray hit one. With six minutes to play, it was a single digit affair.

By the time Jordan Reed hit his second 3-pointer of the night with 50 seconds left, it was down to three (78-75). Cornell ran time off the clock, but the possession ended with an off-balanced 3-point miss by Cancer at the end of the shot clock. Chemerinski chased the ball down, much like he had 45 seconds earlier. He got the ball back to Cancer, whoe was fouled with eight seconds left. His first shot missed, but his second pushed the game back to two possessions. Binghamton was slowed down by the Cornell defense on its final possession and was chased off the 3-point line. Moquete's jumper as time expired brought the game within two, but was only cosmetic as the Big Red celebrated the win.

Cornell returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 2 when it faces defending Patriot League regular season champion Bucknell at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena.