Rams shoot past Westminster, 89-80

The Rams broke out of an offensive funk behind 58.8 percent shooting and a barrage of 3-point goals in posting an 89-80 nonconference victory over Westminster Thursday night at the Small Multi-Sport Center.

Cornell (2-9 overall) went 11-of-22 from long range and had five players score in double figures, led by Reggie Greenwood's 22 points. The young Rams ended an eight-game skid with their most efficient offensive performance in two seasons heading into the holiday break.

Head coach Chad Murray's squad enjoyed its highest scoring game since putting up 92 points in a win over Concordia-Chicago on Dec. 15, 2009. The Rams shot 30-of-51 from the floor and 18-of-22 from the foul line against Westminster (4-6).

The Rams raced to a 47-29 halftime lead. Cornell hit 12-of-20 field goals in the second half and used a 10-0 run down the stretch to finish off the Blue Jays, who pulled to within five points with 2:54 remaining.

Greenwood set the tone with 15 points in the opening period. The sophomore guard also dished out a game-high eight assists to only two turnovers in 37 minutes.

Junior Alex Miller totaled 18 points and eight rebounds. Rory Cotter collected 16 points, six boards and four assists. Joey Guth came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 18 minutes. He netted 11 points in the second half while draining three 3-point goals. Matt Bergstad chipped in 10 points.

The Rams were dialed in from long range with Cotter, Greenwood and Guth each accounting for three 3-pointers. Miller hit a pair of treys.

Westminster got as close as 79-74 with less than three minutes to play. But the Rams responded with 10 unanswered points, getting a 3-pointer from Miller and then hitting 7-of-8 free throws to push the margin to 89-74 with 58 seconds to go. Cornell connected on 12-of-13 free throws in the second half.

Joe James finished with 30 points for the Blue Jays, who shot 50.0 percent from the field and held a 30-25 advantage on the boards.

Rams in the rankings - Greenwood stands second in the Iowa Conference with 4.09 assists per game. Freshman Nick Bobb is third in the league in blocked shots (1.60 bpg). Miller is shooting 47.4 percent (18-of-38) from 3-point range, ranking fifth in the conference.

Coming up - The Rams return to action Monday, Jan. 2 to face Dominican University (2-9) in a 1 p.m. tipoff in River Forest, Ill. Cornell (0-3 IIAC) resumes conference play Jan. 4 against Buena Vista (5-6, 1-1 IIAC) at 8 p.m. in Storm Lake.