Cotter nets 19 in home loss to Spartans

Cornell's 43-point second half wasn't enough in its comeback bid Wednesday night as the Rams fell 74-66 to Iowa Conference foe Dubuque at the Small Multi-Sport Center.

The Rams (1-6 overall, 0-3 IIAC) received season-high scoring efforts from post players Rory Cotter and Nick Bobb, who combined for 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting. Cotter tossed in 13 of his game-high 19 points in the second half in helping Cornell trim an 18-point deficit to 47-42 with 9:31 remaining.

The difference was at the foul line, where the Spartans (5-1, 2-0) attempted 19 more free throws than the Rams. Dubuque made good on 24-of-35 free throws, while the Rams finished 12-of-16 from the line.

Bobb, a 6-foot-7 freshman, had his best game as a Ram, putting up 16 points behind 6-of-8 shooting from the field and going 4-of-4 from the foul line. Reggie Greenwood added 11 points and dished out eight assists. Cotter pulled in a team-high seven rebounds, and Joey Guth collected six.

Cornell trailed 29-21 at halftime and dug its deepest hole at 45-27 with 14:47 to go. The Rams charged back into the game with a 13-2 spurt, eight of the points and a pair of 3-pointers coming from Cotter. Dubuque answered with a 5-0 run and the Rams never drew closer than eight points the rest of the way.

The Spartans shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half to maintain control. Cornell made 53.6 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes, its highest scoring half of the season.

Dubuque held a 32-30 edge on the boards. Cornell turned the ball over 20 times, to Dubuque's 17.