Cornell’s men’s basketball team rode a big second-half scoring wave and held on in the final moments for a 66-60 Midwest Conference win over Beloit Saturday inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
Zach Ingle netted a game-high 20 points and Logan Christensen pitched in 15 to guide the Rams (3-6 overall), who improved to 2-2 in MWC play with their fourth consecutive series win over the Buccaneers (4-6 overall, 1-3 MWC).
Cornell dominated the early portion of the second half, using a 25-7 spurt to build a 55-33 advantage with 8:47 left in regulation. Beloit mounted a late rally and pulled within 62-58 with less than one minute to go.
Single free throws by Jeremy Durdan and Trevor Boge put the Rams up six points. After two Beloit foul shots trimmed the margin to 64-60, Christensen iced the game by sinking two free throws with seven seconds left.
Ingle scored 11 of his points after intermission and finished with three 3-point goals. Christensen tied his career scoring high, shooting 5-of-5 from the field.
The Rams received six rebounds apiece from Christensen, Logan Sharp and Jayden Meeker. Jordan Magnani tallied eight points and six assists.
Earlier in the week, the Rams had a 100-78 win over Grinnell.
Senior Logan Sharp broke Cornell’s single-game record with 20 rebounds.
Sharp snatched his 20th board of the game with 4:29 remaining, topping the previous school record of 19 set by Bryan Goldsmith against Clarke during the 2002-03 season.
The 6-foot-9 Sharp overpowered the Pioneers in the paint, netting 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field for his second double-double of the season. He corralled 14 defensive rebounds and also had two blocked shots in a dominant 23 minutes of work.
Coming off a five-game road swing, the Rams were sharp from the outset and led by as many as 37 points in the second half. Cornell limited Division III’s second-highest scoring offense to 56 points with only four minutes left in regulation.
Sophomore Zach Ingle poured in a game-high 23 points with four 3-point goals and also dished six assists. The Rams got a big boost off the bench from Jeremy Durdan, who connected on four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
Jordan Magnani had a stellar floor game with eight assists and only one turnover against Grinnell’s full-court pressure. Jayden Meeker added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Logan Christensen pitched in seven assists and six rebounds.
The Rams owned a decisive 53-37 advantage in rebounds and held Grinnell to 26.7-percent shooting (12-of-45) from 3-point land.
Cornell took a 59-39 lead into intermission. The Rams’ lead ballooned to 87-50 deep into the second half.