Athletics - Men's Basketball

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Coming up — Saturday, Jan. 5, Central, Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 6 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 9, Simpson, Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 8 p.m.

Ram review – Cornell (3-7 overall, 1-0 Iowa Conference) had an upset brewing against The Citadel, but a late flurry by the Division I Bulldogs spoiled the Rams’ New Year’s Eve plans in a 71-63 nonconference loss Dec. 31 at McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C.

“I was real proud of our guys,” Cornell head coach Mike DeGeorge said. “We were not intimidated by a Division I team on their home floor.”

The Rams led by as many as 12 points in the first half and took a 29-21 advantage into halftime. The Citadel (5-6 overall, 0-2 Southern Conference) grabbed its first lead of the game at 51-50 with 8 minutes, 35 seconds remaining. Cornell’s Joe Newcomb (Salem, Ind./Eastern) hit a jumper that tied the score at 54-54 with 5:36 left to play, but the Bulldogs responded with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to fend off the Rams.

Cornell dropped its fifth consecutive game – all in which the Rams had a lead in the second half – but showed signs of its potential in this 40-minute battle.

“We had key stretches and long stretches where we played to our strengths,” DeGeorge said. “I think fatigue played a little bit of a factor coming off the (Christmas) break. We got a little worn down. We’re just not putting full games together. We’ve got to break that scenario heading into conference play.”

The Citadel head coach Ed Conroy was impressed, but not surprised with Cornell’s effort.

“We knew when we scheduled this game that it would be a tough challenge for our team,” Conroy said. “We knew that they had good size and ran a solid defense which is what we will be going up against when we begin our conference season.”

Cornell’s Griffin LaDew (Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) shared game-high scoring honors with 16 points while hitting four 3-point goals. Riley Larson (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson) also reached double figures scoring with 10 points. Chris Handke (Bellevue/Bellevue) added seven points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Michael Tierney (Cedar Rapids/Jefferson), sidelined the last five games due to an ankle injury, returned to the starting lineup and scored six points.

The Rams controlled the first half, racing out to early leads of 10-1 and 15-3. Cornell held the Bulldogs to 28.0 percent (7-of-25) shooting in the opening 20 minutes and owned a 33-28 rebounding edge for the game.

Shooting for 2-0 in the IIAC – The Rams will try to remain perfect in league play when they host Central (8-1, 1-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Small Multi-Sport Center. Cornell is 10-10 against the Dutch since joining the IIAC in 1997. The teams split two games last season, with Cornell winning 79-71 in Mount Vernon and Central taking an 81-67 decision in Pella.