Cornell’s men’s basketball team climbed into the driver’s seat in pursuit of a Midwest Conference championship heading into the final month of the regular season.
Coach Dave Schlabaugh’s Rams used a 12-2 run down the stretch to pull out a pivotal 63-57 road win over MWC preseason favorite Ripon Saturday afternoon inside Weiske Gymnasium.
First-place Cornell (11-5 overall, 6-1 MWC) gained a two-game lead in the loss column against chief challengers Ripon (6-3 MWC) and Illinois College (5-3 MWC). The Rams have a heavy February schedule ahead with nine league games in 19 days.
The Rams made the plays when it mattered, overcoming a 55-51 deficit with 3:50 left in regulation. A clutch 3-pointer by Logan Christensen put the Rams ahead 57-55 with 2:37 to go.
After the Red Hawks (10-8 overall) evened the score at 57-57, fifth-year senior Cooper Kabela put back his own miss to give the Rams the lead to stay at 59-57 with 1:02 remaining. Jordan Magnani and Christensen both sank two free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Kabela collected his second 23-point game in four days, shooting 9-of-13 from the field and draining four 3-point goals. The 6-foot-5 all-conference forward recorded his 100th career made 3-pointer and moved within four points of third place on Cornell’s all-time scoring list, occupied by Reggie Greenwood (1,440 points, 2010-14).
Logan Sharp hit 5-of-9 field goals and finished with 11 points. Magnani had nine points and four assists. Christensen added eight points and five rebounds, while Marcus Quirk led the team with seven rebounds.
The Rams limited Ripon to 34.4-percent shooting, including a chilly 4-of-21 from 3-point range. The teams combined to make 18-of-19 free throws in the game.
Earlier in the week, Cornell’s men’s basketball team took on a big road test Wednesday night and left Sherman Gymnasium with its first Midwest Conference loss, 79-69, to Illinois College.
Kabela kept the Rams relatively close with a fine 23-point performance, which included an 11-of-14 touch from the foul line. He became the fourth player in Cornell history to eclipse 1,400 points in a career, now with 1,413.
Cornell hung around and got within 56-52 with 7:16 remaining thanks to a personal 6-0 run by Kabela. The Blueboys responded in the form of Rogers, who hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to stretch the lead back to 10 points.
Magnani, saddled with foul trouble in the first half, finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Magnani is now just 18 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
Quirk netted 12 points, Sharp 11.