Athletics - Men's Basketball

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Coming up – Tuesday, Feb. 26, Iowa Conference Tournament Quarterfinal, at Coe, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m.

Sixth-seeded Cornell (9-16 overall, 7-9 Iowa Conference) travels to play third-seeded Coe (15-10, 10-6) in an IIAC Tournament quarterfinal Tuesday, Feb. 26 in Cedar Rapids. The Rams make their fifth IIAC Tournament appearance in 11 years in the league. This is the program’s first trip to the postseason in four years under head coach Mike DeGeorge.

Cornell will try to avenge a pair of regular-season losses against the Kohawks, who won 71-59 on Jan. 23 in Cedar Rapids and took an 81-59 victory on Feb. 16 in Mount Vernon. The Rams have dropped the last 10 meetings with Coe.

“Coe has had its way with us both times this year,” DeGeorge said. “We will have to play much better defensively and maintain our patience and be prepared to work for everything on the offensive end against their pressure defense. It will take a special effort for us to advance, but we have a lot to prove after losing our last three games of the regular season. We will find out a lot about the character of this group with how they respond on Tuesday.”

Cornell is 2-4 all-time in IIAC Tournament play, its last postseason win coming against Coe (70-60) in a quarterfinal game in 2003.

The Cornell-Coe winner plays at No. 2 seed and defending champion Loras Thursday, Feb. 28 in a semifinal in Dubuque. The other quarterfinal game Tuesday, Feb. 26 pits No. 5 seed Central at No. 4 seed Dubuque, with the winner playing at No. 1 seed Buena Vista in a Feb. 28 semifinal. The championship game is Saturday, March 1 at the highest remaining seed.

Ram review – Cornell junior guard Griffin LaDew (Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) averaged 24 points and went 12-of-22 from 3-point range in a pair of losses to conclude the regular season. The Rams had a late rally come up short in a 74-71 home loss to defending IIAC champion Loras on Feb. 20. Cornell then dropped a 72-65 decision at Simpson on Feb. 23.

LaDew climbed into ninth place on Cornell’s career scoring list with 1,134 points. He also jumped to second on the school’s single-season chart for made 3-point goals with 75, only four behind Chris Heller (1991-92).

Simpson 72, Cornell 65 (Feb. 23, at Indianola)
LaDew tossed in a game-high 27 points behind 7-of-12 shooting from 3-point range, but the Rams faltered late in a road loss.

The Rams, who trailed by a point at halftime, were outscored 36-23 in the final 16 minutes of the game. Simpson held a decisive edge at the foul line, hitting 22-of-26 free throws while Cornell finished 6-of-10.

LaDew came within one made 3-pointer of equaling the school’s single-game record of eight, shared by Jeff Ecker and Chris Heller. It was the third time this season that LaDew has made seven 3-pointers in a game. Riley Larson (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Michael Tierney (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) had a solid floor game with 12 points and seven assists. Chris Handke (Bellevue/Bellevue) led all players with nine rebounds.

“LaDew played extremely well and Tierney did a tremendous job handling pressure and creating offense,” DeGeorge said. “Most importantly, Tierney’s effort defensively the past two games has been outstanding. He is setting a great example for his teammates of what we need to do to be successful.”

Loras 74, Cornell 71 (Feb. 20, at Mount Vernon)
The Rams rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes and had a chance to tie it in the game’s final possession of a near upset of Loras.

Tierney scored 10 of his 18 points during Cornell’s 13-4 run to end the game. His jumper pulled the Rams to within 73-71 with 13 seconds left. Loras then hit a free throw to make it a three-point game, but the Rams failed to get a shot off in the final 10 seconds.

“We fought the defending conference champs for 40 minutes,” DeGeorge said. “We proved to ourselves that we can play with the best in the league.”

LaDew paced four Rams in double figures scoring with 21 points, going 8-of-13 from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Handke posted 12 points and eight rebounds. Larson chipped in 12 points and Corey Dieser (Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea) dished out five assists.

IIAC leaders – LaDew finished the regular season ranked first or second in the IIAC in five statistical categories. He leads the league in free throw percentage (94.6) and 3-point goals made per game (3.0) and is second in scoring (16.4 ppg), steals (1.76 spg) and 3-point percentage (44.1). Tierney is second in free throw percentage (90.5), fourth in steals (1.50 spg) and fifth in assists (3.35 apg). Handke stands third in offensive rebounds per game (2.40).