Rams off the mark in league defeats

It was a rough offensive week for the Cornell men's basketball team, which endured sub-30.0 percent shooting games in a pair of Iowa Conference losses.

The Rams were held to a season-low point total in a 52-39 home loss Wednesday to Wartburg. Cornell went on the road Saturday and dropped an 83-50 decision to Central.

Cornell (3-18 overall, 1-11 IIAC) battled visiting Wartburg to a 23-20 score at halftime and remained close at 37-35 with 8:35 to go. The Knights (10-11, 4-8 IIAC) pulled away down the stretch with a 15-4 game-ending spurt.

Junior Alex Miller scored a team-high 12 points behind 5-of-11 shooting for the Rams, which connected on 16-of-55 field goal attempts (29.1 percent). Reggie Greenwood delivered 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Rory Cotter led the Rams on the glass with nine rebounds. Nick Bobb and Joey Guth had two steals apiece.

Cornell finished 3-of-21 from 3-point range and lost the battle on the boards, 45-32. Wartburg's Jordan Sathoff led all players with 13 points, seven below his league-leading season average.

The Rams dug themselves an early 27-12 in the Central contest and trailed 47-30 at the break. Cornell managed only five field goals in the second half and shot 28.8 percent (15-of-52) for the game.

Greenwood paced the team with 13 points. Guth and James Scully had seven points apiece. Scully and Alec Winzenried shared team-high honors with five rebounds.

A bright spot for Cornell came at the foul line, where the Rams hit 17-of-23 free throws. Central (14-7, 6-6 IIAC), led by Demarco Turner's 29 points, drained 13-of-32 shots from beyond the arc. The Dutch held a 39-32 advantage in rebounds.

Rams in the rankings - Greenwood has played 35.05 minutes per game this season, most in the conference. He ranks third in the IIAC in assists (3.67 apg), fourth in scoring (15.0 ppg) and fifth in steals (1.43 spg).