By: The Blueboys held a halftime lead, but a 32 percent shooting night couldn’t get the job done as Cornell rallied for the Midwest Conference victory.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – For 20 minutes on Tuesday night, the Illinois College men's basketball team led in spite of itself. Though the Blueboys had struggled to find the range in the first half, they still took a 25-22 edge into halftime thanks to solid free throw shooting and 11 Cornell turnovers. The script changed in the second half, with Cornell holding onto the ball and running its offense efficiently. Scoring 50 points after halftime, the Rams charged back for a 72-59 win over IC in the Midwest Conference opener for the Blueboys. The team falls to 1-2 (0-1 MWC) on the year.
Early on, Illinois College wasn't having too much trouble putting the ball in the basket. After spotting Cornell a 2-0 lead, the Blueboys responded with an 8-0 run that saw four different players get involved. A jumper by
Brandon Fishburn would give the team its largest lead of the game. Cornell would come back to lead, 21-17, after a Corey Davis layup with 6:05 remaining in the first half, but the Rams would only score one point over that final stretch leading into the intermission. A
Brad Herrmann basket and consecutive hoops by
Blake Shehorn put the Blueboys back on top before half.
The final Illinois College lead on the night would come with less than four minutes gone in the second half on a jumper from
John Taylor.
Mitchell Patterson later tied the contest at 35-35 with a shot from downtown, only for a 6-0 Cornell run to follow and give the Rams an edge they wouldn't lose the rest of the way.
With the Blueboys struggling to bury open looks, Cornell was able to stretch its lead with transition buckets. The Rams ended the night with a 14-2 lead in fast break points and a 44-22 edge in points in the paint.
Patterson and Fishburn led the Blueboys with 11 points apiece on the night.
Tim Schappaugh also reached double-figures with 10 points. Patterson added nine rebounds and three steals for IC.
Illinois College goes back out of conference this weekend, facing North Park on Nov. 29. The game in Chicago has a 5 p.m. tip-off.
