Men look to rebound from 0-2 IIAC start

It was a tough week on the offensive end for Cornell's men's basketball team, which opened Iowa Conference play with losses Wednesday at Simpson, 67-50, and at home Saturday to Central, 67-52.

The Rams (1-5 overall, 0-2 IIAC) had things going their way in staking a 34-28 halftime lead over Simpson. Head coach Chad Murray's senior-less squad managed to shoot 33.3 percent (24-of-72) over the next three halves of action.

"We're not shooting the ball well and we're not getting to the free throw line enough," said Murray, whose team attempted (29) one more free throw than its opponents made (28) in the two games. "We're not being aggressive enough offensively and we're playing selfish on that end of the floor. Defensively, we're doing a respectable job."

Guards Alex Miller and Reggie Greenwood combined for more than half of the team's points in the Simpson game, which the Rams led 36-28 with 18 minutes left to play. Miller led all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Greenwood added 11 points and three assists.

Sophomore Joey Guth came off the bench to score 12 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Nick Bobb grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

After shooting 50.0 percent in the opening 20 minutes, Cornell cooled off and hit 7-of-26 field goals in the second half. The Rams went scoreless for nearly eight minutes during which Simpson (2-4, 1-1 IIAC) ran off 14 points to take a 42-36 lead. A Miller 3-pointer drew the Rams within 44-41 before the hosts pulled away with a 19-6 run.

Simpson's 17-point margin of victory came directly from the foul line. The Storm hit 20-of-28 free throws, while the Rams went 3-of-7.

"Our guys are shying away from contact and not drawing enough fouls," Murray said. "We lost focus mentally and shut down offensively in the second half. You have to expect the other team to come out with a renewed intensity in the second half, and we did not match Simpson's intensity level."

Central (5-1, 2-0 IIAC) took advantage of its size and strength in dealing the Rams their third home loss of the season. The Dutch held a 42-16 edge in points in the paint and won the battle on the boards, 41-28.

"Central was clearly the more physical team," Murray said. "We didn't have an answer to their inside game. That's an area of weakness. We need our young guys to develop and take some pressure off our guards."

The Rams fell behind 32-19 at halftime. Central stretched the margin to 45-25 five minutes into the second half and maintained its double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Miller went 5-of-8 from the floor and finished with a game-high 13 points. Junior forward Rory Cotter had 10 points and seven rebounds. Greenwood and Harth added eight and seven points, respectively. The Rams were outscored in bench points, 30-13.

Rams in the rankings - Cornell fields two of the league's top five scorers in Greenwood and Miller. Greenwood, a sophomore, stands fourth in the IIAC at 15.0 points per game. Miller is fifth at 14.5 points.

Greenwood ranks third in the conference in steals (2.0 spg), fourth in 3-point goals made (2.17 pg) and seventh in 3-point percentage (48.1).

Coming up - Cornell is back home Wednesday, Dec. 7 to face IIAC foe Dubuque (4-1, 1-0 IIAC) in an 8 p.m. tipoff at the Small Multi-Sport Center. The Spartans have taken the last four meetings, including an 85-84 overtime decision last year in Mount Vernon.

"This is a winnable game for us," Murray said. "We definitely need to get a "W" prior to the break, especially at home."