Jayden Meeker netted a career-high 27 points and guided Cornell to its first Midwest Conference win of the season, 74-58, over Lake Forest in men’s basketball action Saturday inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
The Rams (4-10 overall, 1-4 MWC) got going offensively with a 51.8-percent shooting performance from the field and held Lake Forest (3-11 overall, 1-4 MWC) 25 points under its season average in the convincing home win.
Meeker notched his fourth 20-point game of the season. The junior all-conference guard scored 17 points after intermission and finished a superb all-around effort with seven rebounds, five steals, four assists and one blocked shot. Meeker also drew 11 fouls in the contest, one fewer than Lake Forest’s entire team.
Cornell avenged a 63-59 road loss to the Foresters on Dec. 2, thanks to a big 17-0 scoring run in the first half. Zach Ingle accounted for eight consecutive points during the spurt and finished with 16.
Junior transfer Dylan Hurley contributed 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Jaxson Herring was just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine boards.
The Rams, who led by as many as 19 points in the second half, saw Lake Forest trim the margin to 61-55 with 4:12 remaining. Cornell responded with nine unanswered points to regain control, which included five free throws by Meeker.
Cornell turned the ball over only six times, helping offset a 44-33 rebounding advantage by the Foresters.
Lake Forest junior guard Alex Knight was limited to seven points – 13 below his season average – on 2-of-12 shooting.