Two days after recording his 1,000th point, Jordan Magnani ripped the nets for a season-high 27 as Cornell throttled past Knox, 75-48, in Midwest Conference men’s basketball action Saturday inside Memorial Gym.
The Rams (13-5 overall, 8-1 MWC) held firm to their first-place lead with six conference games remaining over the final two weeks of the regular season. Cornell has outscored the opposition by a resounding 157-86 margin in its past two victories.
Cornell plays host to Knox (6-12 overall, 2-8 MWC) in a quick rematch at 5 p.m. Monday in the Small Sport Center.
The Rams had another solid shooting game, hitting at a 50.8-percent clip with 11 3-point goals. Magnani led the charge on efficient 10-of-14 shooting from the field, while draining five threes.
Magnani tallied nine points during Cornell’s game-breaking 14-0 spurt early in the second half. A 3-pointer by Zach Ingle capped the run and put the Rams ahead 57-31 with 11:53 remaining.
Junior post Logan Sharp narrowly missed a double-double, going for 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Cooper Kabela provided 11 points and led all players with six assists.
The Rams had 20 assists on 30 made field goals. Magnani and Trevor Boge each dished four assists, while Logan Christensen had three.
Earlier in the week, the Rams took a 82-38 win against Monmouth.
Magnani scored his 1,000th career point in the match-up.
Magnani became the 25th member of Cornell’s 1,000-point club, achieving the milestone in his 77th career game. He finished the contest with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists in only 26 minutes of action.
Senior Cooper Kabela, who tallied his 1,000th point in the 2019-20 finale in his 76th game, vaulted past Reggie Greenwood (2010-14) to No. 3 on the program’s all-time scoring list with nine points, putting his career count at 1,445. Kabela contributed nine points, six rebounds and six assists.
Cornell led 47-23 at intermission and outscored the visiting team 35-15 in the second half.
Cornell held the Fighting Scots to 27.4-percent shooting, including 0-of-15 from 3-point land. The Rams dominated Monmouth on the boards, 54-30.