WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg men's basketball fell to Cornell College 73-70 on Saturday, Dec. 31 in a non-conference matchup. The Knights are now 4-8 overall and remain 1-2 in American Rivers Conference play.
 
Game Summary

• First Half            
  • The Knights got baskets from Marshun Williams and Donovon Smith to start the game, but after back-to-back threes from Cornell the Rams led 8-4 four minutes in
  • Wartburg responded with a 11-0 run to take a 15-8 lead after three's from Jack Molstead and Cade Daugherty as well as a three-point play from Codey Hicks
  • The Knights put together another big run, this time a 14-4 run to give them a 29-12 lead with just over nine to play in the first half
  • Wartburg still led by 17 with 6:15 to play, but Cornell closed the half on17-6 run that brought them back within six points at halftime
    • Knights led 41-35 at the break
  • The Knights first half shooting percentages:
    • 57.1% FG
    • 55.6% FG
    • 66.7% FT
• Second Half
  • The Rams opened the half with back-to-back threes to tie the game at 41
  • Cornell held on to a one possession lead over the next five minutes and the score was 50-49 with Cornell in front with 12:09 to play
  • The Knights took their first lead since the opening minutes of the second half after Keagan John connected from beyond the arc to make the score 52-50 with 10:56 to play
  • The lead grew to as many as four points, but the Rams kept fighting back
  • After two free throws from John, Wartburg led by three, but Cornell retook the lead after a 6-0 run
  • It was tied 63-63 with 3:18 to play after another John three pointer
  • Wartburg took a 68-67 lead with just over a minute left after a second-chance basket from Smith
  • Cornell scored to retake the lead and were able to go 4-4 from the free throw line to hold off the Knights
  • The Rams won 73-70

 
Top Performers

• Molstead
  • 17 points
    • 7/14 FG
    • 3/7 3P
  • Eight rebounds
  • Five assists
• John
  • 16 points
    • 5/11 FG
    • 3/8 3P
    • 3/3 FT
  • Four rebounds
  • One assist
  • One steal
  • One block
• Williams
  • 10 points
    • 4/10 FG
    • 2/4 FT
  • Five rebounds
  • Two assists

 
Notes/Streaks

• Wartburg is now 28-17 all-time against Cornell
• Molstead is now 93 points from joining the 1,000-point club
• Daugherty led the Knights bench in scoring with eight points
• Hicks led all players in rebounds with nine
• Wartburg shooting percentage:
  • 49.1% FG
  • 42.1% 3P
  • 62.5% FT

 
Next Time Out
The Knights are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 4 for an A-R-C matchup against Central College at 7:30 p.m.