Chiefs win battle with Bobcats, fall to the Warriors

By Ginna Young

Cornell picked up another conference win against Birchwood for the boys basketball program, but lost a close one later in the week to Winter.

Feb. 8 vs. Birchwood conference (W 46-41)

Looking to avenge a a loss earlier this season, Cornell hosted Birchwood, for a conference battle, jumping out to an eight-point lead midway through the first half. Something Cornell coach Steve Parker didn’t anticipate, was that the Bobcats’ senior guard Austin Smith would have “hot hands,” making four contested three-point shots, to give Birchwood a three-point lead at halftime.

“Our focus entering the contest was to contain Noah Lobitz, their big 6’3” sophomore,” said Parker. “He lit us up for 33 points in our first game. Our goal was to wall him off and force him to shoot mid-range on out, which is what we did. He had to work for the baskets he earned this time around.”

Once the Chiefs knew what they were up against, it was a matter of shifting their defense for the second half, which resulted in a more evenly matched game. Cornell was down by two, with three minutes left in the game, when Birchwood tried stalling, which pulled the Chiefs out of zone. From that point on, Cornell had a series of defensive stops.

The match went to the Chiefs, 46-41, giving them their second East Lakeland Conference win of the year.

“We did just enough to win,” said Parker. “Offensively, we took advantage of the bonus free throws and made some big shots down the stretch, to finish the game on a 9-2 run.”

The Chiefs were out rebounded, which Parker says they’ll continue to work on. Cornell did come up with eight turnovers, which were a season-low.

“We took care of the ball tonight,” said Parker. Junior Blake Anders had another double-double for the Chiefs, with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while junior Avery Turany had 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Junior Dawson Munson had 9 points, including the go-ahead three with 45 seconds left, finishing with 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

Junior Dylan Bowe had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 3.5 steals on the night, and freshman Bentley Spangler scored 8 points and had 4 rebounds. Munson knocked down three shots from the arc on the night, with Turany and Spangler each coming up with two shots from long range.

“Our squad practices skills for moments like this and our reserves push our starters to the limit at practice,” said Parker. “Birchwood learned this evening that all five of our starters are scoring threats.”

Feb. 10 vs. Winter conference (L 63-53)

Closing out the week, Winter came to call, with another contest ensuing. The first half was neck-and-neck, with the Warriors taking a one-point lead into halftime.

“I never panicked, because I thought my boys would close out strong the way we have the last two weeks,” said Parker.

Giving Winter credit, Parker says the Chiefs were outrebounded and simply wanted the loose balls more. Coupled with the 14 shots Cornell missed at the rim and that allowed Winter to take the win, 63-53.

“It’s frustrating because we won the turnover battle by five,” said Parker. “The referees whistled Winter for eight traveling violations in their half-court offense alone. We obliterated their press and made the rest of our team’s goals.”

Bowe had a career-high 33 points, sinking his 50th, threepoint shot (four on the night) and drawing his 15th charge defensively for the season. He was also 11-13 from the freethrow line, had 2 assists and a steal.

Turany also knocked down a three, ending with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Anders came away with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a drawn charge. Munson had 4 points and 2 assists for the game, and Spangler had 3 points, 6 rebounds and a steal.

Sophomore Carter Harycki had 3 rebounds, while sophomore Will Peterson had a rebound and an assist, and freshman Hunter Anders had a timely steal for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs now move to 5-17 overall and 2-12 in league play.

“Tonight’s outcome is also a valuable lesson as to what will happen when a key player doesn’t follow the game plan for beating an opponent’s scheme,” said Parker. “Everyone needs to honor and execute their role. When my players do and have done in recent weeks, we are a formidable team.”