Cornell’s men’s basketball capped a terrific 10-1 run to close the regular season with Saturday’s 63-56 Midwest Conference victory over Beloit inside Flood Arena.
The Rams (14-11 overall), who have lost just once since Jan. 7, finished runner-up in the MWC race at 12-4 for the second year in a row. The 12 conference wins equal the most by a Cornell squad since the 1969-70 season.
Cornell begins defense of its MWC Tournament title Friday, Feb. 24, with a 7 p.m. semifinal against No. 3 seed Monmouth (14-11 overall, 10-6 MWC) in Jacksonville, Ill.
Sophomore Jayden Meeker tossed in a game-high 18 points and Jordan Magnani netted 17 for the Rams, who led the Buccaneers (7-18 overall, 3-13 MWC) for all but 1:23 of the contest.
Magnani moved within 19 points of Cornell’s career scoring record of 1,647, set by Cooper Kabela last season. Magnani connected on four 3-point goals Saturday as the Rams shot 10-of-24 from beyond the arc.
The Rams raced to a commanding 38-16 lead with 5:12 remaining in the opening half, which saw them shoot 57.1 percent from the field. Cornell played with a double-digit advantage for most of the second half.
Cornell received eight points apiece from Logan Sharp, Zach Ingle and Izic Mackey. Magnani and Mackey shared team-high rebounding honors with five.
Earlier in the week, Cornell held the upper hand with an 80-75 men’s basketball win over Monmouth.
The teams will meet once more on Feb. 24 in Jacksonville, Ill., site of the MWC Tournament.
Cornell reeled off its ninth victory in the last 10 games and topped the 80-point mark for the sixth time this season, thanks to a 51.8-percent shooting night from the field.
Sophomore Zach Ingle scored 17 of his team-high 23 points after intermission in a game the Rams never trailed. Jordan Magnani pitched in 22 points to go with five rebounds and four assists in his final home game. The fifth-year guard moved within 36 points of Cornell’s career scoring record.
Izic Mackey provided a strong all-around outing with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jayden Meeker added 12 points and seven boards.
The Rams led by as many as 13 points in both halves, but couldn’t shake the Fighting Scots until the very end. Ahead 78-75 with less than 15 seconds to go, Meeker delivered a pivotal blocked shot for the Rams. Mackey corralled the rebound, was fouled and sank two free throws for the final margin of victory.
Declan Flynn hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 25 points for the Fighting Scots.