Chiefs fall to Lancers, pull off win over Pirates

By Ginna Young

Cornell’s boys basketball program opened their season at home against a non-conference foe, then took on another non-conference opponent in an away game to close the week.

Nov. 22 vs. E.C. Immanuel non-conference (L 80-46)

“Eau Claire Immanuel graduated eight seniors from last year’s varsity basketball program, so I was hopeful for a different outcome this year,” said coach Steve Parker. “Little did I know, their JV team lost only two games last year, and their sound fundamentals and execution on the court showed tonight.”

The first half didn’t go as planned for Cornell, as they went into halftime down by 16 points. The remainder of the game went much the same way and the bout went to Immanuel, 80-46.

The Chiefs shot 43 percent from two-point range and 27 percent from three-point range.

“We committed 22 turnovers, which is far too many,” said Parker. “Hopefully, that will be our season low. We need to also clean up our passes.”

Leading for Cornell, was senior Dylan Bowe, who ended with 18 points,12 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. Senior Blake Anders came next, with 10 points and 2 rebounds, followed by senior Dawson Munson, who had 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

Junior Bentley Spangler came away with 6 points and 3 rebounds, while junior Carter Harycki finished with 2 points and 4 rebounds. Junior Jayden Joas-Shaw added 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and sophomore Hunter Anders chipped in with 2 rebounds and 1 steal.

Also getting in the scorer’s column, sophomore Torren Parker had 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal; junior Daniel Person had 1 point, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals, and junior Will Peterson added 1 rebound.

“We’ll work on improving our defensive base positioning and rotation, as well,” said S. Parker.

Nov. 28 vs. Gilman non-conference (W 45-40)

Shaking off the Tuesday woes, Cornell traveled to Gilman, to take on the Pirates in what would be a close game at the end.

“Gilman jumped out to an early 8-point lead, in part, because of a 6-1 rebounding advantage in the opening minutes of play,” said S. Parker. “We clawed our way back into the game, due to our resilience and conditioning.”

Cornell’s man-to-man defense improved from the last game, forcing them to shoot contested jump shots. The Chiefs created 18 turnovers, but only shot 30 percent from the field and got outrebounded again.

“We’ll have to work on rebounding, shooting and finishing at the rim at the next practice,” said S. Parker. “Nearly all of our shot attempts were at the rim and beyond the arc. I want to see more mid-range pull up jump shots in the future, to balance our offensive attack.”

After their rough start, Cornell came back to take a fourpoint lead into halftime, but the Pirates weren’t going down without a fight. Added to their determination, was foul trouble for the Chiefs.

“Dylan Bowe had to sit the last five minutes of the first half, after picking up his third foul,” said S. Parker. “He committed his fourth foul early in the second half, so he joined me again on the bench for another five minute respite. I was proud of how his teammates played with confidence, intensity and aggressiveness during his absence on the court.”

It was a battle to the finish, but in the end, the match went to Cornell, 45-40.

“Our offense improved tonight,” said S. Parker. “We had a lot more quality drives and cuts from our two offenses that put a lot of pressure on their defense. However, we missed 10 layups and 54 percent of our free throws, which allowed Gilman to hang around.”

Munson stepped up his game, finishing with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block.

“I couldn’t get him to drive to the basket last year, because he was content shooting threes,” said S. Parker. “This year, he is instinctively using his athleticism to drive past defenders, who don’t respect his jab step off a triple threat and who overplay on defense.”

Despite his foul trouble, Bowe was right behind Munson, with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. B. Anders also had a good night, with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals. H. Anders was right behind, with 5 points and 1 rebound.

Spangler ended the night with 2 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, while Person added 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Shaw and Harycki each came up with a rebound, and T. Parker came up with 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.