ITHACA -- During his 20 years in the Ivy League, Steve Donahue has come to expect nights like Saturday, when two teams -- regardless of talent disparity -- defy prognostications and treat a packed house to an unexpected nip-and-tuck affair.

Unfortunately for Brown, Cornell's upperclassmen recognized the signs and leaned on their experience down the stretch. With its oft-overlooked second unit providing a pivotal lift, No. 25 Cornell earned a tough 74-60 victory over the Bears at nearly sold out Newman Arena.

Cornell's 20-3 record is a program-best through 23 games. Win No. 20 didn't come without some tense moments.

"We haven't faced that in a while, especially on our home court, when somebody punches us in the mouth," Donahue said.

Cornell had won its first five league games by an average margin of 27.2 points, the closest being Friday's 90-71 victory against Yale. Until Saturday, the Big Red hadn't trailed once in a league game and, for long stretches, looked untouchable.

Perimeter shots weren't falling, and the Bears (7-16, 1-5 Ivy), buoyed by versatile all-league forward Matt Mullery, spaced the floor and consistently passed their way to open looks.

With 16 minutes, 52 seconds left in regulation, Cornell found itself in a 43-43 tie. Donahue went with a defensive-minded lineup: reserves Mark Coury, Adam Wire, Alex Tyler and Geoff Reeves, and starting guard Chris Wroblewski.

Coury made an immediate impact. He beat Mullery in space to an inbounds pass lofted toward halfcourt, then out-hustled the savvy 6-foot-8 senior to the loose ball. Coury was fouled on the play, made 1-of-2 free throws and electrified the crowd.

During the next four minutes and change, that quintet forced four of Brown's seven turnovers. Coury had two steals and a blocked shot. Reeves hit a 3, Tyler scored four points and the group walked off the floor to a standing ovation with Cornell holding a 53-47 lead.

"I thought that was the key to the game," Donahue said. "One, it's a great mental lift. You bring in your second unit and you extend the lead. And two, you bring in your starters energized."

The fresh legs paid dividends a few minutes later, after Brown rallied to within two at 58-56. Louis Dale hit a pull-up jumper, then scored on a backdoor layup. Brown missed, Coury rebounded, and seconds later Ryan Wittman drained a 3 to give Cornell its largest lead of the night, 65-56.

The Big Red outscored Brown 16-4 over the final 7:37.

Mullery, a first-team all-league pick as a junior, finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. He became the 23rd Brown player to score 1,000 points, and finished the night with 1,015. The only thing he couldn't do was keep up with Cornell's depth.

"Man, they play so many guys that come off the bench fresh," Mullery said. "It's such an advantage when we're not as deep a team as they are. They can just rotate guys in and out, and especially in the second half ... it made a huge difference."

Cornell was off from behind the arc, shooting an uncharacteristic 28 percent (7-for-25). It still shot 49 percent overall, getting 17 points and nine rebounds from center Jeff Foote and 14 apiece from Wittman and Dale. Brown freshman Tucker Halpern scored 14 points.

Thanks to an 8-0 spurt to end the first half, Cornell avoided its fifth halftime deficit in 20 games. Brown led for most of the opening 20 minutes, forcing Donahue into a timeout after Halpern hit a tough shot in traffic to give the Bears a 24-16 lead.

Cornell responded with seven straight points, but Brown didn't let it get any worse. Instead, a real Ivy basketball game broke out. Donahue knew it would.

"Improving to 6-0 is a big deal," Coury said. "We've been in the driver's seat, obviously we're ranked, but that doesn't mean anything in this league because everyone wants to win and they're all going for the NCAA berth."