Cornell’s defense put the clamps on Monmouth down the stretch as the Rams grinded out a 50-47 Midwest Conference men’s basketball win Tuesday night inside Glennie Gymnasium.
The Rams (7-10 overall, 5-3 MWC) held Monmouth without a made field goal over the final 10:41 of regulation and moved within one game of the second-place Fighting Scots (10-7 overall, 6-2 MWC) halfway through the conference slate.
Cornell, which has made a habit of second-half comebacks, overcame an eight-point deficit with 16 minutes to go in this defensive battle. The Rams gradually chipped away and took their first lead of the half at 46-45 on a Jordan Magnani jumper with 4:56 to go.
Two free throws by Zach Ingle extended the margin and then Magnani sank two foul shots to put the Rams up 50-45 with 22 seconds remaining.
Monmouth pulled within 50-47 and then had a game-tying 3-point attempt go off the mark. Cornell’s Logan Christensen corralled the rebound as time expired, snapping Monmouth’s four-game winning streak.
Cornell held the Fighting Scots to their lowest point total of the season. Monmouth misfired on their last 15 field goal attempts and finished 32.7-percent shooting for the night.
Magnani and Ingle paced the Rams with 13 points apiece, while Jayden Meeker pitched in 12. Christensen posted a team-high seven rebounds, followed by Magnani with six. Jeremy Durdan and Meeker each had five rebounds.
Jordan Metcalf led Monmouth with 12 points and 16 rebounds.