WAVERLY, Iowa - Wartburg men's basketball secured its second win of the season when it defeated Cornell College 85-74 on Tuesday, Jan. 26 inside Levick Arena. The Knights have now won five of the last six meetings against the Rams. 

The Orange & Black (2-3, 0-1 A-R-C) will return to American Rivers Conference action on Wednesday, Feb. 3 against Coe College (0-1, 0-0 A-R-C) with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m. inside Levick Arena. 

The Knights got off to a fast start in the first half as they established a comfortable lead half way through the period after going on an 18-2 run. Wartburg shot the ball well throughout, converting on 46.7% of its 3-pointers and shot 56.3% from the field at halftime.

Starters Trent Allard and Max Smith Drahos shot a combined 7-of-10 from the field in the first and totaled 18 points. Freshman forward Marshun Williams also played a pivotal roll as he recorded seven points off the bench on 3-of-4 shooting and Wartburg held an 18-2 advantage in bench points at the break. 

Wartburg saw its 22-point lead quickly cut to 10 in the second when Cornell went on a 12-2 run of their own. The Rams' comeback was bolstered by some hot shooting as Cornell made 50% of its attempts from long range and 51.5% from the field in the second half. Rams' forwards Cooper Kabela and Marcus Quirk were the key contributors in the second half as they went a combined 6-of-9 from 3-point land, which fueled the Cornell rally. The Knights led by just six points with 4:44 remaining but senior forward Ryan Stulken and senior guard Drahos closed the gate down the stretch with timely buckets to secure the victory. 

The Cedar Rapids native Drahos led the Knights in scoring with a season-high 17 points to go along with a team-high six assists, which notched a season best for the senior. Stulken also tallied a season-high 15 points while fellow forward Trent Allard had a career night with 13 points and a team-best nine rebounds. The supporting cast for Wartburg out scored the Cornell bench 29-4.

Defensively, the Knights forced 15 turnovers on 10 steals and two blocks. Wartburg held its opponent to 42.4% from the field, 36.4% from beyond the arc and 50% from the charity stripe. The Orange & Black recorded a season-high 85 points and shot 29-63 from the field, 11-28 from 3-point land and 16-21 from the free throw line.