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Coming up — Wednesday, Nov. 28, at Luther, Decorah, 8 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 1, Clarke, Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 4 p.m.
Ram review – The Cornell men’s basketball team turned in one of its best defensive efforts in years and rolled to a 72-43 nonconference victory over Knox Nov. 19 in the Rams’ home opener at the Small Multi-Sport Center in Mount Vernon.
Knox’s 43 points were the fewest allowed by a Cornell team since Jan. 25, 1992 when the Rams beat Lawrence, 63-32.
The Rams (1-2) showed marked improvement on the defensive end after allowing 88 points a game in back-to-back losses at Marian, Wis. (88-64) Nov. 16 and Wisconsin Lutheran (88-80) Nov. 17 to open the season.
Cornell held Knox (0-1) to 30.8 percent shooting for the game, including a dismal 3-of-15 (20.0 percent) in the first half. The Rams scored 34 points off 24 Knox turnovers and took a commanding 30-12 lead at halftime. Cornell shot 52.5 percent (31-59) from the floor.
“We played with great intensity and executed our defensive concept well,” head coach Mike DeGeorge said. “It was a complete turnaround in both our effort and execution from the opening weekend. I was proud of the way we responded. This group has a lot of potential. Consistently playing like we did (against Knox) is the key to our success.”
Cornell junior point guard Michael Tierney (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) led all scorers with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He also dished out four assists with no turnovers. Junior Tyler Cody (Roberts, Wis./St. Croix Central) drained four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points. Freshman Bryan Whitesel (Sioux Falls, S.D./O’Gorman) came off the bench to grab a team-high six rebounds in only eight minutes. Griffin LaDew (Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) led the Rams with five assists.
The Rams accounted for 39 points off their bench. Thirteen Rams figured into the scoring column.
“Michael Tierney was outstanding at both ends,” DeGeorge said. “Corey Dieser (Albert Lea, Minn./ Albert Lea) held Knox’s best perimeter player scoreless. James Wohrley (Dixon, Ill./ Dixon) provided a big lift off the bench when we had foul trouble in the first half.”
Conference opener – The Rams open Iowa Conference play with an early Nov. 28 date against Luther in Decorah. Cornell finished eighth in league play last season with a 4-12 mark. The Norse took ninth with a 3-13 record. The teams split a pair of meetings last year (Luther 68-45, Cornell 68-60) with each winning on its home court.
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