Cornell men fall to second-half comeback

A game of momentum swings turned UW-Platteville's way in the second half and Cornell couldn't get it back in a 70-59 loss Tuesday night at the Small Multi-Sport Center.

The Rams (1-3) controlled the opening 20 minutes and took a 34-25 lead into the break. UW-Platteville (3-1) pulled even with 13 minutes to go and then finished the comeback with a 12-2 spurt down the stretch.

Cornell guards Reggie Greenwood and Alex Miller combined for 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting. Greenwood led all scorers with 18 points, 14 in the first half. Miller went 7-of-13 from the field and finished with 17 points.

Junior Rory Cotter chipped in eight points and five rebounds. Freshman Nick Bobb collected a team-high six rebounds.

Cornell limited the Pioneers to 25.0 percent shooting in the first half, seemingly on track to avenge a 43-point loss a year ago in Platteville, Wis. But the Pioneers were a different team after intermission, shooting 50.0 percent from the field (14-of-28) and committing just one turnover.

The Rams grabbed a 49-45 lead on a Cotter layup with 9:24 remaining. The Pioneers countered with nine unanswered points before a Joey Guth bucket trimmed Cornell's deficit to 54-51 with 6:40 to go. The Rams managed just one field goal over the next five minutes as UW-Platteville stretched the lead to 66-53.

UW-Platteville finished 23-of-26 from the foul line, while the Rams went 17-of-23. The guests held a 36-35 edge on the boards.

Coming up - Cornell now enters a lengthy holiday layoff before jumping into Iowa Conference play Wednesday, Nov. 30 at Simpson.

The Storm edged Cornell twice last season, taking a 68-61 decision in Mount Vernon and then pulling off a 76-75 buzzer-beater in Indianola.