Men's Basketball Can't Nail Down First Win

By wpengine | December 3, 2001

A combination of a discombobulated offense and a size disadvantage contributed to Cornell’s fifth straight loss to open the season. In front of a raucous 2,316 fans in the Red’s home opener, Colgate (3-2) controlled the interior and frustrated Cornell’s offense for a 68-55 victory.

Playing in front of a packed house, Cornell jumped out to an early 9-4 lead. However, after weathering the early Red rush, Colgate took control of the game on the strength of a 9-0 run midway through first half. Super sub, Raiders sophomore forward Howard Blue, ignited the visitors by scoring six straight points in that spurt, single-handedly giving them the lead.

Later in the half, Colgate went on a 10-2 run that gave it the largest advantage of the first period at 29-20.

The resilient Cornell squad narrowed the gap to 30-26 by the half on a 3-pointer from co-captain senior guard Wallace Prather and an acrobatic three-point play by sophomore guard Ka’Ron Barnes. On the play, freshman forward Eric Taylor deflected an entry pass to Prather who found Barnes slashing to the hoop. Barnes hung in the air, double clutched and scored despite being fouled on the play.

The Red opened the second half much like it ended the first. Barnes hit a 3 to pull Cornell within one, and after a Colgate basket, freshman guard A.J. Castro, hit two foul shots to make the score 32-31 Raiders. As they had in the first half, the visitors used another 9-0 run to pull away, as the Red never got within seven points the rest of the way.

Cornell’s inability to hold onto the ball and make the outside shot

hampered its ability to make a serious run in the second stanza.

“I thought we did some foolish things with the basketball,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. “There were a couple of times we were in transition and we made bad decisions. Just got lazy with the basketball.”

The Red’s offensive troubles can in part be attributed to Colgate’s tough defense. The Raiders forced 10 second-half turnovers and 17 in all.

They also held Cornell to just 37.7% shooting.

Colgate coach Emmett Davis felt that his defense was the difference-maker.

“We talked about at halftime that we needed to continue to defend. We wanted to be a little more aggressive on the basketball and loosen up our denials on the wings. By and large, I thought our defensive effort was the key in the second half.”

As it has all season long, the Red continued to struggle from beyond the arc. After shooting an abysmal 4-for-22 from behind the arc against Notre Dame, the Red shot just 6-for-23 against the Raiders. Rather than the open looks that come in the flow of offense, many of the shots were forced and came with the shot-clock winding down.

“We’re getting a lot of deep bombs because we’re not cutting as hard as we should, so we get down late in the shot clock and we have to shoot those long 3s,” Barnes noted. “We just have to execute more.”

Donahue acknowledged that the right players have to take those attempts.

“We’re relying way too much on that. The guys who aren’t really 3-point shooters are shooting 3s. I’ve got to do a better job of communicating what I want each guy to do. Just way too quick and not enough poise with the basketball.”

On the offensive end, Colgate went to its bread and butter on the

interior against a depleted Cornell front line. Forward Pat Campolieta led all scorers, putting home a game-high 17 points. Center Martin Marek added 16, while forwards Blue and Tim Sullivan chipped in with 15 and 10, respectively.

“We really throw the ball inside,” Davis said. “They’re a little

shorthanded now with the injuries inside, with [freshmen forwards Chris] Vandenberg and [Gabe] Stephenson. [Those are] two big kids sitting there in street clothes. They’d certainly make a difference in the game.”

Despite a solid six points and nine rebounds from freshman forward Eric Taylor, the absence of Vandenberg — Cornell’s defensive specialist — was painfully noticeable.

“We got used to him back there. We’re so undersized without him,” an exasperated Donahue said. “We’ve got to learn to deal with life without Chris, especially on the defensive end.”

Barnes agreed. “That lack of size is killing us,” he said.

Although his team is still winless, Donahue still believes that the Red is brimming with potential.

“This is a young team and we’re going to get better. I hope people stay with this group and believe in it. It’s a growing process.”

Cornell will have a chance to notch its first victory of the campaign

tonight, as it faces cross-town rival Ithaca College in the teams’ first-ever regular season meeting. The game is part of the Coaches versus Cancer campaign and all proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. in Newman Arena.

Archived article by Alex Ip

Men's Basketball Hammers I.C.

By wpengine December 4, 2001

The men’s basketball team lives and dies by the 3-point shot. Last night, behind a breakout performance by rookie forward Cody Toppert and a school record 14 3s, the Red (1-5) recorded its first victory of the season by defeating cross-town Ithaca College (2-3) 77-45. The game was part of the Coaches vs. Cancer series, which has tried to raise money across the country for cancer research. Cornell started the game strong, using a 10-0 run to secure an 18-6 advantage. However, Division III Ithaca College would not allow the Red to pull away, playing rigid defense throughout the first half. The Bombers held Cornell scoreless for more than a seven minute stretch, cutting the deficit to 24-18 at the half. In the first half, the Red shot just 9-for-31 from the field including 4-for-14 from behind the arc. Head coach Steve Donahue attributed his team’s lackluster play in the first half on lack of patience on the offensive end. “We got impatient, thinking we’re going to make this 10-point lead a 30-point lead. Ithaca’s way better than these guys thought at that time and it’s going to be a game if you play like that.” Toppert acknowledged that the team was being outworked. “[Donahue] told us we needed to work harder. To their credit, they came out and worked hard on the offensive end and got some easy looks.” As well as the Bombers played in the first half, the second half belonged to Toppert and Cornell. The Red burst out of the gates and immediately built a nine-point lead at 29-20. The resilient bunch from South Hill scrapped to within six at 34-28 on a jumper by forward Matthew Riggins. That was as close as Ithaca College would get, however, as the Cody Toppert Show began. Over the next five minutes, Toppert drained six consecutive shots, including 3-pointers on four straight possessions. Proving that he is not a one-dimensional spot-up shooter, the rookie then proceeded to hit a tough fade-away in the lane, followed by a layup on a backdoor cut. His 16 points in that span spearheaded a 22-4 Cornell blitz that put the game out of reach. “We knew that he could shoot. He’s got the reputation of being a great shooter,” Ithaca coach Jim Mullins said of Toppert. “Clearly he’s going to be a great player for Cornell, but we didn’t expect him to do what he did tonight.” Donahue felt that Toppert’s shots settled the team and was the difference maker. “[The team is] playing well, they’re getting breaks, and balls seem like they’re falling in for them and falling off for us. And he steps up to hit four or five 3’s there to get us going.” Prior to his 10-for-15 shooting night, which included 6-for-9 3-pointers, Toppert had shot just 27 percent from behind the arc. However, the sharpshooter knew he’d turn it around. “I’ve been getting good looks and I just haven’t been knocking them down,” Toppert said. “My teammates and I know when I’m open, I should shoot it.” After being outscored 53-27 in the second half, Mullins was frustrated with his team’s lack of effort. “Obviously we did not shoot the ball well at all, but I was more disappointed in our effort than our shooting. I felt that Cornell completely outplayed us in the second half. They wanted the game more. It was a clinic in being out-hustled.” In the victory, Cornell tied a school record with 14 3s. On the evening, the club knocked down 14 of its 31 attempts, led by Toppert’s six 3s. In all, nine Red players had at least one 3-pointer. Of the 59 field goal attempts, more than half were from behind the arc. Donahue attributed the high number of 3-point attempts to Ithaca’s defense. “We get a team tonight that’s almost forcing you to shoot the 3 the way they’re sagging off. This is different than the Colgate game where I believe there wasn’t enough patience on the offensive end.” In addition to Toppert’s 26 points, senior guard Wallace Prather added 11. He also picked up three steals, which now puts him in second place on the school’s all-time steals list at 152. He needs just four more steals to tie the school record held by DeShawn Standard ’98. Forward Jason Wallen led the way for the Bombers with 12 points. Despite his team’s lackluster performance, Mullins hopes that this first-ever regular season meeting between the two teams is the start of a rivalry. “Certainly we’d like another crack at them,” he said. Meanwhile, the Red is just happy to have notched it first win of the season. “We’re doing everything we can to get ourselves a win. We’ve got to have some reward for our hard work, so this win is very important,” Donahue said. “I feel good about us now that we have something to build on.”Archived article by Alex Ip
Women's Basketball Defeats St. Francis, Loses to Colgate

By wpengine December 4, 2001

Last night was one to remember for women’s basketball senior guard Do Stevens. In leading the Red (2-5) to a 65-54 road win against St. Francis (1-4), Stevens became just the ninth player in Cornell history to reach 1000 points. In the process, she also became the Red’s all-time leader in free throws made, surpassing Karin Dwyer ’86. Stevens, who came in averaging 19 points a game in her last three games, put in another vintage performance, recording her first double-double of the season (18 points, 10 rebounds). Sophomore guard Karen Force chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds to continue her stellar season. Force was averaging 12.5 points a game and converting on 39.5 percent of her 3-pointers prior to the St. Francis game. The Terriers were led by Caitin O’Malley’s 10 point, 13 rebound effort — the fifth double-double the Red has allowed in the last five games. After an indifferent 1-5 start to the year marred by inconsistent play, the Red finally put in a complete performance, taking advantage of solid rebounding and 27 turnovers by the Terriers to ease to an 11-point victory. The win snaps a three-game losing streak and will give the women renewed confidence ahead of this weekend’s Cornell Classic. The story was quite different for Cornell on Saturday, however, as it was beaten by a 31 point performance from a junior who averaged 4.6 points per game entering the contest and was outrebounded by 20 boards despite averaging a seven-rebound margin over its opponents coming into the match. Colgate, which had lost its three previous games against Cornell, ended that slide with a decisive 85-70 victory. Entering the contest, the Red knew it was going up against a squad of talented shooters and knew that the competitive bar would rise in the upstate match-up. It anticipated a tough match, but Cornell thought it would be able to focus primarily on its own game, with the victory naturally following suit. What it did not and certainly could not anticipate was Colgate’s uncanny accuracy from the field and its surprising defensive surge. In the first half, Cornell turned in a solid offensive performance, hitting 32.3 percent of its field goals and 36.4 percent of its 3-pointers. Most importantly, the Red made a dramatic improvement from the free throw line and hit 75 percent (6-for-8) of its opportunities, a stark contrast from last Tuesday’s unsuccessful contest with Binghamton, in which Cornell made only two of its 12 opportunities at the charity stripe during the first half. Although the Red’s effort under the basket was better than average, Colgate’s numbers were mind-boggling. Sinking a whopping 56.3 percent of its field goals and 54.5 percent of its 3-pointers, the Raiders ended the half with a 44-30 advantage. In the second half, Colgate built its lead to as many as 23 points, but the Red refused to go down without a fight and closed the gap to single digits with 6:47 remaining. But Cornell’s comeback was negated over the next two minutes as the Raiders went on a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach, pushing their lead to 80-62. Both Cornell and Colgate had similar statistics in the second half of play. Cornell improved to 35.1 percent efficiency from the field, but dropped from 27.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. The Red continued to find triumph at the free-throw line as it hit 61.1 percent (11-for-18) of its opportunities. The Raiders maintained their dominance at the net and shot 55.6 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc to close out the game by a final score of 85-70. The Raiders combined to make 55.9 percent of their field goals during the game and 50 percent of their 3-pointers. While both teams grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, Colgate picked up 20 more defensive rebounds than Cornell, which meant the Red was deprived of many second- and third-chance shots. Twenty-two turnovers committed by the Raiders, compared to 11 of its own, helped the Red stay in the game and remain within striking distance. Additionally, Cornell seized 10 steals to Colgate’s three, which also assisted the Red in its struggle to regain the lead. For Cornell, senior tri-captain and guard Do Stevens had a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds, which included a 9-for-14 performance from the free-throw line. Sophomore tri-captain and backcourt mate Karen Force put in 15 points, with a 5-for-7 effort from the field and a 3-for-5 endeavor from 3-point land. Senior guard and tri-captain Breean Walas added 10 points and had team-highs in steals (three) and assists (four). Junior guard Jaime Glenn was Colgate’s top player on the night as her 31 points and 13 rebounds were both game-highs. She also went 13-for-17 from the field. Freshman guard Allison Lipinski contributed 17 points and landed five 3-pointers that gave her a new school-record. On Friday, the action returns to Newman Arena, as the women host the annual Cornell Classic involving Centenary College, Coppin State, and Delaware.Archived article by Katherine Granish