Blistering second half propels Cornell men’s basketball to win over Coe

CEDAR RAPIDS — Count another win for Cornell in the Bremner Cup Series.

The Rams torched the second-half nets to the tune of 77 percent shooting and rallied past Coe, 84-81, in a Division-III men's basketball game before 518 fans Wednesday night at Kohawk Arena.

'I think we just had to start playing where we would win some possessions on the defensive end,' Cornell Coach Dave Schlabaugh said. 'I don't think we did enough of that in the first half. We just came into the second half thinking if we could just win some possessions early, chip away at it and just try to get back in it. Once we got on the right side of it, we went on a little bit of a run.'

The victory was the fourth in five games for Cornell (6-3) and second in a row over Coe after dropping eight straight in the rivalry from 2011 to 2015.

'Before coming to Cornell, I had no clue what this rivalry was all about,' said Cornell senior forward Jon Anderson, who led the Rams with 19 points and seven rebounds. 'After playing two years with this team and going 2-0, it means a lot. Especially with Coach Schlabaugh's son (Coe junior guard Zach Schlabaugh) on the other team. We can't have Coach going home tonight and have his son ragging on him.'

For much of the first half, it appeared as if the younger Schlabaugh would win bragging rights. The Kohawks (4-7) scored the first six points of the game and led by as many as 11 at 28-17 after a 3-pointer by sophomore guard TJ Kaufmann with 7:08 left in the first half.

Anderson scored six points during a 13-5 surge that got the Rams within two points at 30-28 with less than four minutes until halftime.

After former Mount Vernon prep Tommy Hook opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a 39-31 Coe advantage, the Rams scored nine points in a row and claimed their first lead.

'We just stuck with the game plan,' said Cornell senior guard Corey Davis, who finished with 13 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals. 'The first half was up and down, but we knew we were going to get hot. We would go on a run. We got a good flow going, got some good looks, got some easy ones and before you know it, we got the deficit taken care of and got a lead.'

There were four ties and nine lead changes in the second half, until a Michael Fiorito 3-pointer gave Cornell the lead for good at 57-56 with 9:59 to go.

Michael Drew chipped in 14 points, while Brad Hund added 12 for the Rams.

Former Dubuque Wahlert prep Nolan Timp led Coe with 14 points, while Trevor Haaland posted 12 and Schlabaugh 11.

'I thought they were the tougher team today,' Coe Coach Bryan Martin said. 'They've got a veteran group. I was really concerned with two guys in particular, Davis and Anderson. Those guys know how to win. They've really turned that program around.'

AT KOHAWK ARENA

Cornell 84, Coe 81

CORNELL (84):

Michael Drew 3-5 7-8 14, Brad Hund 4-10 2-4 12, Jon Anderson 7-11 5-8 19, Corey Davis 6-11 1-5 13, Keegan Van Kooten 1-4 0-0 2, Michael Fiorito 2-4 3-4 9, Craig Engle 1-2 3-4 5, Cody Carter 2-3 0-0 5, Jan Siegien 2-2 0-0 5, Cooper Kabela 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 28-52 21-33 84.

COE (81):

Nolan Timp 3-6 8-8 14, TJ Kaufmann 2-3 0-0 6, Spencer Williams 3-5 0-0 6, Trevor Haaland 5-12 0-1 12, Tommy Hook 3-6 1-2 9, Calvin Winker 3-4 4-4 10, Josh Schmitt 1-2 0-0 3, Zach Schlabaugh 4-8 0-0 11, Ivan Morrow 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Meyer 3-8 2-4 8, Jake Eilers 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Roth 0-1 0-0 0, Michael Packard 1-3 0-0 2, Totals 28-59 15-19 81.

Cornell 31 53—84

Coe 36 45—81

Halftime — Coe, 36-31. Three-point goals — Cornell 7-16 (Hund 2-4, Fiorito 2-4, Siegien 1-1, Drew 1-2, Carter 1-2, Davis 0-1, Van Kooten 0-1, Engle 0-1), Coe 10-26 (Schlabaugh 3-4, Kaufmann 2-2, Hook 2-4, Haaland 2-7, Schmitt 1-2, Roth 0-1, Morrow 0-1, Meyer 0-2, Timp 0-3). Rebounds — Cornell 37 (Drew 7, Anderson 7), Coe 27 (Hook 5). Assists — Cornell 13 (Davis 8), Coe 13 (Haaland 4, Hook 4). Turnovers — Cornell 15, Coe 13. Total fouls — Cornell 14, Coe 24. Fouled out — Williams, Schlabaugh. A —

518.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com