Athletics - Men's Basketball

Access the News Release archive

Coming up — Wednesday, Dec. 12, at No. 10 Augustana, Rock Island, Ill., 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 14, at Faith Baptist, Ankeny, 8 p.m.

Ram review – Cornell (3-3 overall, 1-0 Iowa Conference) posted its third consecutive victory and was on its way to a fourth before wasting a late lead in a 70-66 setback to Clarke Dec. 9 in Mount Vernon. The Rams opened the week with an 82-81 home win Dec. 5 over Mount Mercy.

“We saw flashes of what this team is capable of this week,” head coach Mike DeGeorge said. “We played well at both ends in stretches, but we also had some lapses.”

Clarke 70, Cornell 66 (Dec. 9)
The Rams built a 56-41 lead – their largest of the game – with less than nine minutes to play, but couldn’t hold on in a tough nonconference loss.

Tyler Cody (Roberts, Wis./St. Croix Central) buried a 3-pointer that put the Rams ahead 66-61 with 2 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in regulation. Clarke charged back with a 9-0 spurt to end the game, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 28 seconds left.

“We executed our game plan well for 31 minutes, but were unable to finish the game with the same level of execution once Clarke gained momentum down the stretch,” DeGeorge said. “This was a disappointing outcome. We have to learn to play with the same toughness and commitment to our system no matter the situation in the game.”

The Rams played without starting guards Michael Tierney (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) and Corey Dieser (Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea), both nursing ankle injuries. Junior Griffin LaDew (Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) helped pick up the slack with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He hit four 3-pointers and dished out four assists. Cody contributed 13 points and seven rebounds. Riley Larson (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) and Chris Handke (Bellevue/Bellevue) had 12 and 11 points, respectively, and both grabbed seven rebounds.

Cornell led 35-34 at halftime in a see-saw game that featured 12 lead changes. Clarke shot 13-of-26 from 3-point range and committed only 11 turnovers. The Rams won the battle on the boards, 34-31.

Cornell 82, Mount Mercy 81 (Dec. 5)
LaDew poured in a season-high 27 points and the Rams overcame a lackluster start to post their third consecutive victory.

LaDew went 7-of-9 from 3-point range and dished out a team-high five assists. LaDew’s career-high seven 3-pointers were one shy of the school’s single-game record, set by Jeff Ecker against The Franciscan University Dec. 6, 2004.

The Rams trailed 15-0 before hitting their first field goal nearly six minutes into the game. Cornell found its touch the rest of the way, shooting 53.6 percent for the game and draining 12-of-23 goals from beyond the arc. The Rams battled back from an eight-point halftime deficit and led 80-72 with 2:05 left to play. Mount Mercy pulled to within a point on a putback with a second left before time expired.

“It was disappointing for us to fall behind early to such an extent at home,” DeGeorge said. “However, we showed a lot of toughness getting back in the game and building a double-digit lead. We made several great plays to seal the victory down the stretch.”

Handke was a force in the paint and enjoyed what DeGeorge termed “the finest game of his career.” The 6-foot-11 sophomore collected 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Cody hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.

LaDew heats up – LaDew averaged 24.5 points and shot 11-of-17 from 3-point range in the two games last week. The junior guard hit his first eight shots against Clarke and finished 9-of-15 from the field.

LaDew topped the 800-point mark (currently with 804) for his career and has made 113 3-point goals in three seasons. He leads the Rams in scoring (13.3 ppg) and ranks second in the IIAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.82).