Cornell’s Jordan Magnani was doing Jordan Magnani things in Saturday’s championship game of the Midwest Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The MWC Player of the Year rose to No. 1 on Cornell’s all-time scoring list with a 31-point gem, although the Rams couldn’t complete a second-half comeback attempt in a 70-61 loss to top-seeded host Illinois College before a packed house at Sherman Gymnasium.
Coach Dave Schlabaugh’s No. 2 seed Rams closed a strong campaign at 15-12, winning 11 of their final 13 contests. The team came a long way after a 3-9 start to the season.
Cornell was the only MWC team to beat Illinois College (25-2) in the regular season, but couldn’t overcome a slow start and 41-23 halftime deficit Saturday. The Blueboys earned the MWC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Magnani passed best friend and former frontcourt teammate Cooper Kabela for most points scored in Cornell basketball history, boosting his five-year career total to 1,670 in his 115th collegiate game. Kabela accumulated 1,647 points in 113 games from 2017-22.
Magnani broke the record on a pair of free throws with 1:59 remaining in the first half. The 6-foot-1 guard from Mount Pleasant reached double figures scoring for the 86th time as a Ram. Saturday marked the 30th game in which he registered at least 20 points.
Magnani improved his scoring average each of his final four seasons, culminating with a 17.6-points-per-game clip in 2022-23.
Magnani tossed in 21 points after intermission in helping the Rams make a second-half run. He finished 10-of-17 shooting from the field and went 10-of-11 from the foul line.
Cornell trimmed a 20-point deficit to 65-55 on a Magnani layup with 1:27 remaining. Jeremy Durdan’s 3-pointer made it 67-59 before the Rams simply ran out of time.
Sophomore Jayden Meeker pitched in 15 points for the Rams, held to 3-of-15 shooting from 3-point range. Magnani and Izic Mackey had five rebounds apiece.
The Blueboys connected on 9-of-21 3-point goals and owned a 38-28 advantage on the boards. Jake Mazrimas paced the home team with 24 points.
Earlier in the week, the Rams had a 70-48 rout of Monmouth.
The Rams were off and running from the opening tip against Monmouth. Zach Ingle drained a 3-pointer on Cornell’s initial possession, fueling a 20-4 scoring spree to begin the game.
Monmouth did not record its second made field goal until the 10:19 mark of the first half. Cornell limited the Fighting Scots to 27.1-percent shooting on the night and dominated the boards by a 47-32 margin.
Cornell’s lead ballooned to 31 points with 5:21 left in regulation.
Ingle earned game-high scoring honors with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. Jeremy Durdan contributed 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Logan Sharp pitched in 10 points, while Jayden Meeker led all players with eight rebounds.
Jordan Magnani tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The MWC Player of the Year increased his career scoring total to 1,639 points, only eight short of Cooper Kabela’s all-time record.
The Rams had 20 players see court time. They shot 45.5 percent from the field and held a convincing 36-16 advantage in points scored in the paint.