Men's Basketball News Releases
Rams battle Wartburg for national tournament berth at 7 p.m. Saturday in Mount Vernon
MOUNT VERNON - Cornell senior Griffin LaDew (Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) buried four free throws in the final nine seconds of regulation to propel the Cornell men's basketball team to a 65-60 semifinal win over Loras in the Iowa Conference Tournament Thursday night at the Small Multi-Sport Center.
The No. 2 seed Rams advance to the IIAC Tournament championship game for the first time in school history. Cornell (20-6) will host No. 4 seed Wartburg (15-12) at 7 p.m. Saturday with the winner earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Wartburg moved on with an 85-81 upset of No. 1 seed Buena Vista in Storm Lake.
Cornell swept Wartburg in the regular season, winning 71-64 in Mount Vernon on Jan. 21, and 70-54 in Waverly on Feb. 14. The Rams last qualified for the national tournament in 1993-94.
No. 3 seed Loras (16-11), which claimed the last two IIAC Tournament titles, held a 54-53 lead with less than three minutes to play. LaDew tied it with a free throw and junior Chris Handke (Bellevue/Bellevue) converted a layup that put the Rams ahead to stay, 56-54, with 1:40 remaining. Cornell's final nine points came from the foul line.
Brian Centella's layup pulled Loras to within 61-60 with nine seconds to go. LaDew then knocked down two free throws, and following a game-tying 3-point miss from Centella, Cornell's veteran guard sealed the win with two more foul shots with one second left.
LaDew tossed in 16 of his game-high 19 points in the second half. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half, quickly turning a three-point halftime deficit into a 36-33 Cornell lead.
Senior guard Michael Tierney (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) collected 17 points and eight rebounds. Handke and Riley Larson (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) chipped in nine and eight points, respectively. Sophomore Corey Dieser (Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea) had a solid game with six assists, five rebounds and two clutch free throws with 33 seconds left to play.
The Rams prevailed despite shooting 37.5 percent from the floor. Cornell hit 16 of 22 free throws and held a 36-31 advantage on the boards.
