Cornell got beat on the boards and in the paint Wednesday night, resulting in an 85-70 men’s basketball loss to American Rivers Conference foe Wartburg inside the Small Sport Center.
Wartburg (1-0) doubled up the Rams in rebounds, 52-26, and held a 44-24 advantage in points scored in the paint. The Knights also made the most of their trips to the foul line, hitting 17-of-20 free throws in a contest they never trailed.
The Rams (1-2) received strong contributions from their bench, highlighted by an impressive 16-point effort from freshman Zach Ingle in only 10 minutes of action in the second half. Ingle shot 6-of-8 from the field and buried three 3-point goals.
Freshman guard Jayden Meeker also had a solid all-around game in a reserve role. The Mount Vernon native collected 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and two steals, while going 4-of-5 from the foul line.
Cornell totaled 36 bench points in all, outscoring the Knights by four.
The Rams got 11 points apiece from Marcus Quirk and Cooper Kabela. Quirk added five rebounds. Kabela came away with five steals.
The Knights, who shot 48.4 percent from the field, led 41-33 at halftime. They built their largest lead at 66-43 with a 14-3 spurt midway through the second half.
Earlier in the week, Cornell lost to Coe 78-62 in their home opener.
The Rams (1-1) gave up nine unanswered points to start the game before Logan Sharp converted a putback nearly three minutes in, setting off the traditional toilet paper toss by Cornell’s student section.
Cornell erased the early deficit, but then got hit with a 14-2 run by the Kohawks (2-0) later in the first half and went to the locker room down 42-28 at the break. Coe played with a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
The Kohawks gained one point in the 2021-22 Bremner Cup All-Sport Series, which they now lead 4-3.
Cornell’s Marcus Quirk, who earlier in the day was named the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week, continued his fine play with 16 points and eight rebounds to pace the Rams in both categories. The senior forward shot 7-of-11 from the field and sank a pair of 3-pointers.
Junior newcomer Izic Mackey provided a boost of the bench with 11 points and four rebounds in only 15 minutes. Sharp finished with 10 points and seven boards. Jordan Magnani and Jayden Meeker added six points apiece.
The Rams were held to 41.1-percent shooting and turned the ball over 16 times, which Coe converted into 24 points. The Kohawks shot it at a 49.2-percent clip for the game and held a 39-34 rebounding advantage.
Coming up – Cornell plays in the Buzz Levick Tournament, opening against Wisconsin Lutheran at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19 in Waverly.