Cornell tripped up twice on road

Sophomore Reggie Greenwood continued his offensive tear with two more 20-point games, but the Rams couldn't hold up on the defensive end in a pair of Iowa Conference losses last week on the road.

Cornell saw its opponents shoot over 50.0 percent from the field in setbacks to Buena Vista (84-68) Wednesday and Loras (84-74) Saturday. The Rams faced double-digit halftime deficits in both contests before playing both teams virtually even in the second half.

"Our defense has been pathetic," said Cornell head coach Chad Murray, who team dropped to 2-12 overall, 0-5 in the IIAC. "We're allowing teams to shoot 51.0 percent and average 75 points in our last five games. We were outscored by 12 points from the foul line in each game last week. The stats don't lie.

"These games come down to one or two possessions on both sides of the ball. That creates the 10-point gap. We're just having too many mental breakdowns."

Greenwood has filled up the stat line to an average of 20.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 50.0 percent shooting with 13 3-point goals over his last five games. The 5-foot-8 point guard poured in 21 points at Buena Vista and netted 20 more at Loras. Greenwood has reached the 20-point mark in each of his last four contests, boosting his season scoring average to 15.1.

"Reggie has played great the last five games," Murray said. "He has taken care of the ball, shot it well and gotten to the free throw line."

The Rams dug themselves a 42-28 halftime hole against Buena Vista (6-7, 2-2 IIAC) and allowed the Beavers to shoot 50.9 percent for the game. Cornell never got closer than 12 points in the second half.

Alex Miller and Rory Cotter chipped in 10 points apiece for the Rams. Cornell got nine points off the bench from John Harth and seven from Joey Guth. Greenwood posted team highs of six rebounds and four assists. Nick Bobb finished with eight points, five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Cotter came away with three steals.

Buena Vista finished 21-of-30 from the foul line, while the Rams went 9-of-15. Cornell shot 45.6 percent from the floor. The Beavers held a 39-28 edge in rebounds.

Guth popped in a season-high 18 points in 20 minutes against Loras (4-9, 1-3 IIAC). He hit three of the team's eight 3-pointers and finished 6-of-11 from the field. Greenwood backed up his 20 points with six rebounds and three assists.

Miller was the third Ram to reach double figures with 14 points. He also handed out a team-high five assists. Cotter and Matt Bergstad added seven points apiece.

The Rams fell behind 40-30 at halftime and trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half. Cornell shot 53.3 percent after intermission and got as close as 61-53 with 8:47 to play.

The Duhawks finished the game shooting 55.6 percent from the field and connected on 24-of-28 foul shots to Cornell's 12-of-18. Loras held a 34-30 edge on the boards. The Rams turned it over just 10 times and made two more field goals than the hosts.

"Our kids are playing hard and they're not quitting," Murray said. "We can't seem to get a critical defensive stop or a critical basket when we need to. It all falls on me. Obviously I haven't gotten through to the guys."

Rams in the rankings - Greenwood has surged into a tie for third place in the IIAC in scoring at 15.1 points per game. He ranks second in assists (3.86 apg), fifth in 3-point goals made (28) and seventh in steals (1.36 spg). Bobb stands fourth in blocked shots (1.38 bpg) and seventh in free throw percentage (81.3).

Coming up - Cornell has a mid-week bye before hosting IIAC co-leader and defending league champion Luther (10-2, 4-0 IIAC) in a 4 p.m. tipoff Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Small Multi-Sport Center. The Rams have taken eight of the last nine meetings with Luther, including a 55-49 victory last year in Decorah.

"This week we have some time with the bye to work on things. Offensively, we're playing better. We just need to remember how to play defense," Murray said. "Luther is a tough, hard-nosed team. They run a lot of the same things we do. They play the game the way I want our team to play."