JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team beat Cornell 76-75 in a Midwest Conference contest on Wednesday at Sherman Gymnasium.
With the victory, the Blueboys have clinched a berth in the annual Midwest Conference Tournament for the fifth straight year. It is the longest current streak in the league and the longest since 2019.
The Blueboys improved to 11-13 overall and 8-7 in conference play. The Rams are now 6-18 and 5-10.
IC 76 Cornell 75
As the final score indicates, the contest was close throughout. IC's biggest lead of the half was five (14-9) in the early stages and held a four-point advantage (26-22) with 6:00 to play before the Rams rallied to take a 31-28 lead with 4:56 to go. The lead went back and forth for the rest of the half, and Cornell led 42-41 at the break.
The Blueboys took the lead back for good at 48-46 with 17:55 to go and never trailed for the remainder of the game. IC enjoyed an eight-point lead, it's largest of the night, with 2:23 to go before the Rams closed the game on a 7-0 run to cut the gap to 76-75. Cornell had a shot at the buzzer, which allowed IC to seal the victory.
Ty Lenhardt led the IC attack with a game-high 19 points.
DeShawn Nolan added 14 points and a game-high five assists while
Andrew Thomas had 13 points and eight boards.
Brady Clark corralled a game-high 11 rebounds for IC, which out-rebounded the Rams 49-33.
Up Next
IC inside Sherman Gymnasium for the final time in 2025-26 as Monmouth comes to campus for a 1:00 p.m. game. The Blueboys will honor seniors
Nick Doroskin and
Ty Lenhardt before the contest as part of the annual Senior Day festivities.
