Men's Basketball News Releases
Rams post first regular-season sweep over Coe since 1993-94 season
MOUNT VERNON - The Cornell College men's basketball team secured a berth in the Iowa Conference Tournament with a 67-57 victory over the rival Coe Kohawks Feb. 4 before a near-capacity crowd at the Small Multi-Sport Center.
The Rams completed their first regular-season sweep over the Kohawks since the 1993-94 season. It was Cornell's first regular-season win over Coe in Mount Vernon since Dec. 9, 2000.
The Rams' pursuit of an IIAC championship ended Saturday with a 79-74 loss to seventh-ranked Buena Vista (20-2, 12-1) at Siebens Fieldhouse in Storm Lake.
Cornell moved its overall record to 16-6, matching the 2002-03 team for most wins in a season since joining the IIAC 12 years ago. The Rams stand third in the league race at 9-4.
"It was exciting to get the season sweep of Coe. We had a great atmosphere for the game," Cornell head coach Mike DeGeorge said. "Unfortunately, the (Buena Vista) loss takes us out of the race to win the conference championship. We need to re-evaluate our goals now and work to position ourselves for the tournament."
#7 Buena Vista 79, Cornell 74 (Feb. 7, at Storm Lake)
The Rams battled back from a 14-point deficit in the second half and had a chance to tie it in the final minute against the defending IIAC champion Beavers, who remained undefeated at home.
"Overall, it was a disappointing effort," DeGeorge said. "We fell behind because of sporadic defensive intensity and Buena Vista took advantage when we were out of position. I was very proud of how hard we fought to get back in the game. Michael Tierney played well at both ends."
Cornell, which trailed 60-46 with 13 minutes remaining, trimmed the margin to 75-72 on a Chris Handke (Bellevue/Bellevue) layup with 1:11 to go. After stopping the Beavers on the ensuing possession, the Rams came up empty on three consecutive shots on their end - two 3-pointers and a jumper - that could have erased or closed the gap. Buena Vista sealed the win with four free throws in the final 16 seconds.
Tierney (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) netted a game-high 21 points, going 7-of-8 from the foul line. He also had five rebounds and three assists. Griffin LaDew (Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) finished with 19 points and four assists. Riley Larson (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) was the third Ram to crack double figures with 13 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds.
The Rams took great care of the ball with a season-low five turnovers. Buena Vista made up the difference with 51.9 percent shooting and a 41-28 advantage on the boards.
Cornell 67, Coe 57 (Feb. 4, at Mount Vernon)
Tierney scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half as Cornell held off the Kohawks before an energized gymnasium of 1,791 fans.
The Rams led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but had the margin cut to 54-49 with less than five minutes to play. Cornell put the game away by hitting 8-of-8 free throws in the final 1:40, four of those coming from Tierney.
LaDew was good for 16 points, including a running jumper on the wing for Cornell's first basket. The court was then bombarded with toilet paper from Ram fans, a long tradition in the rivalry when the Kohawks come to town. Larson finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Handke grabbed a game-high eight boards.
The Rams led 32-24 at halftime. Coe struggled from long range, hitting just 2-of-18 3-point goals. The Rams went 5-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Coming up - Wednesday, Feb. 11, vs. Loras (14-7, 9-3) Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 8 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 14, at Wartburg (12-9, 7-5), Waverly, 4 p.m.
The Rams are jockeying for postseason positioning with this week's opponents, Loras and Wartburg. Loras is second in the league race with a 9-3 mark, a half-game ahead of the 9-4 Rams. Wartburg is in fourth place at 7-5.
Cornell will try to avenge an 84-75 loss to Loras on Jan. 14 in Dubuque. The Rams have dropped the last 10 meetings with the Duhawks. Cornell scored a 71-64 home win over Wartburg on Jan. 21, its third straight win in the series.
Block party - Handke set one school record and tied another with five blocked shots against Coe. The 6-foot-11 junior became Cornell's single-season leader with 36 blocks, breaking the old mark of 35 set by Trent Hoover in the 1997-98 season. Handke tied the single-game mark of five blocks, set by Abe Tubbs against Eureka in 1992.
Handke ranks third in the IIAC with 1.64 blocks per game. The Rams have totaled 82 blocks this season, one short of the school record set by the 2001-02 team.
