Men’s basketball 82, Clarkson 37
The men’s basketball team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a resounding 82-37 win over Division III Clarkson (6-4) on Monday night at Newman Arena. After surviving a scare against South Dakota on Friday, the Red cruised to a 9-2 lead to open the first half and never looked back. With the victory, Cornell finishes its non-conference schedule at 14-3, setting records for most non-league wins (14) and non-conference winning percentage (.824).
Senior forward Ryan Wittman, one of three Red players to score in double-figures, led both teams with 15 points in 25 minutes of playing time, as head coach Steve Donahue emptied his bench about midway through the second frame with Cornell comfortably in front. Senior center/tri-captain Jeff Foote added 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds, while classmate Louis Dale had 10 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds on the day.
The Red shot 49.3 percent for the game, and after opening the contest ice-cold from beyond the arc –– making just 3-of-17 –– managed to connect on 6-of-10 in the final 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Cornell held Clarkson to just 25 percent overall, including 7-of-26 from 3-point range.
Freshmen Peter McMillan and Miles Asafo-Adjei scored their first points in a Cornell uniform, in a game that saw all 19 eligible players take the court, including freshman walk-on Johnathan Gray of Tampa, Fla. Sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski dished out a game-high six assists and chipped in five points and four rebounds, while senior forward Pete Reynolds had a season-best five points. Marred in a six-game shooting slump, freshman forward Errick Peck broke out of it in a big way with a crowd-pleasing dunk en-route to a 4-point, 4-rebound performance in 11 minutes of action.
The Red collected 56 rebounds in the winning effort, and had nearly as many offensive rebounds (21) as the Golden Knights had total boards (22).
As if Cornell needed added reason to feel good about its chances for a three-peat heading into Ivy play this Saturday against Columbia –– Wittman picked up his fifth Ivy League Player of the Week nod of the season, and senior tri-captain Alex Tyler and Dale appear to be back to full health after nursing nagging injuries these past few weeks.
Original Author: Sun Staff