Athletics - Men's Basketball

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Coming up — Wednesday, Jan. 16, Wartburg (5-9, 2-3), Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 8 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 19, at Buena Vista (11-3, 5-0), Storm Lake, 4 p.m.

Ram review – Cornell (5-8 overall, 3-1 Iowa Conference) remained in the thick of the league race by splitting two games last week. The Rams protected their home court with a 74-67 victory over Simpson Jan. 9 in Mount Vernon and then fell 81-70 on the road to Loras in a battle of IIAC unbeatens Jan. 12. in Dubuque.

The Rams stand third in the IIAC standings, one game back in the loss column to Buena Vista (5-0) and Loras (4-0). With 12 games remaining, Cornell is one victory shy of equaling its league win total from last season when the Rams finished eighth.

“We are starting to see guys really embrace their roles and find ways to make major contributions through their roles,” Cornell head coach Mike DeGeorge said. “It has been very rewarding to see our recent improvement.”

Loras 81, Cornell 70 (Jan. 12, at Dubuque)
The Rams knocked down 10 3-point goals, but it wasn’t enough to upset the defending IIAC champions on their home court.

Junior guard Griffin LaDew (Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) led four Rams in double-figures scoring with 17 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Michael Tierney (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) netted 12 points and Tyler Cody (Roberts, Wis./St. Croix Central) and Bryan Whitesel (Sioux Falls, S.D./O’Gorman) each came off the bench to chip in 11. Chris Handke (Bellevue/Bellevue) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

The Rams never led in the game but stayed within striking distance early in the second half. A Corey Dieser (Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea) 3-pointer pulled the Rams to within 34-32 with 19 minutes left in regulation. Loras responded with a 10-0 spurt and took control the rest of the way.

Cornell made 10-of-29 shots from 3-point range, but was held to 38.5 percent shooting for the game. Loras shot 50.9 percent from the field and outrebounded the Rams, 39-32.

“I am very proud of how we fought in this game,” DeGeorge said. “Their physicality was the difference in the game. We need to learn how to play to our strengths against physical teams. We played the defending conference champs on their floor for forty minutes and there are plenty of teaching points for us to learn from this game.”

Cornell 74, Simpson 67 (Jan. 9, at Mount Vernon)
Tierney, who missed five games due to injury early in the season, tossed in a career-high 29 points and LaDew netted 20 to propel the Rams to their best start in IIAC play (3-0) since joining the league in 1997-98.

The Rams overcame a 35-32 halftime deficit behind 54.2 percent shooting in the second half and snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with Simpson. Cornell’s last win over the Storm was a 73-69 decision on Jan. 24, 2004 in Mount Vernon.

Tierney had a huge second half with 24 points, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the field and going 10-of-10 from the foul line. The junior point guard scored 10 points in the final four minutes as the Rams pulled away down the stretch with a 13-4 run. Tierney finished the game 9-of-13 shooting and also grabbed five rebounds. He topped his previous career high of 24 points, set against Central during his freshman season.

LaDew recorded his fifth 20-point game of the season and drained three 3-point goals. Handke notched a game-high 11 rebounds and Riley Larson (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) grabbed eight boards. The Rams held a 42-31 advantage in rebounds.

“It was great to see us maintain our confidence and belief in our system and keep working until we were able to find a way to take control of the game,” DeGeorge said. “Michael Tierney led the comeback with a tremendous second half. J. Ryan Lott (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) gave us a big lift in the first half to help us close the lead before halftime. Griffin LaDew hit another huge three to help seal the win.”

Sizzling from the stripe – Cornell’s Tierney and LaDew have made the most of their trips to the foul line this season. Tierney leads the IIAC in free throw percentage, making 27-of-29 foul shots for a 93.1 percent clip. LaDew, who is two made free throws shy of qualifying in the league statistics, would rank second at 92.3 percent (24-of-26).

LaDew had a string of 26 consecutive made free throws – dating back to final game last season – snapped with a miss in the final seconds against Simpson Jan. 9. Tierney has made his last 14 free throw attempts.

The Rams are shooting 71.7 percent (123-of-173) from the foul line this season, ranking second in the IIAC. But Cornell has also shot the fewest free throws of any team in the league, 156 less than leader Wartburg.

IIAC rankings – LaDew has climbed to third in the league in scoring at 17.1 points per game. He leads the IIAC in 3-point goals made per game (3.23) and is fifth in minutes played (31.62). Handke ranks second in rebounds (7.2 rpg) and third in offensive rebounds (2.92 rpg). Tierney is fifth in assists (3.3 apg).