Chiefs hit a rough patch with a three-game skid

Sophomore Parker Modl went in for a pull-up jumper on Cornell’s home court Jan. 20, as they hosted a tall Birchwood squad. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

It was a hard week for the Cornell boys basketball program, as they continue to adjust changes in their line-up.

Jan. 17 vs. Flambeau conference (L 63-44)

First up in the three-game skid, was Flambeau, who came to call. While the first half was fairly even, the second part of the game got away from the Chiefs.

“Our defense had a hard time defending their continuous assault of ball screens,” said coach Steve Parker. “We did not execute our press breaker properly and we’ll address that at our next practice.”

The Falcons held on to take the game, 63-44. Leading for Cornell on the night, was senior Blake Anders, with 10 points and 6 rebounds, followed by sophomore Parker Modl, who ended with 9 points, while senior Dylan Bowe, had 8 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.

Sophomore Hunter Anders had 6 points and 7 rebounds, and junior Bentley Spangler ended with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Junior Jayden Joas-Shaw came away with 3 points, while sophomore Torren Parker chipped in with 2 points and 5 rebounds, and freshman Carson Stipek added 2 assists.

“We need to do a better job rebounding defensively, because we gave up too many offensive rebounds for their easy second and third-chance opportunities,” said S. Parker. “We got into the bonus halfway through the second half and didn’t take advantage.”

Jan. 20 vs. Birchwood conference (L 56-34)

A few days later, Birchwood was on the Chiefs’ court, where Cornell didn’t have an easy time with a much taller line-up of Bobcats.

“We played our best defense of the season in the first half, with a pesky 2-3 zone,” said S. Parker.

Cornell was down by eight points early on, but fought back to tie the game.

“We matched up man-man to start the second half and went on a run to close the gap to 28-25, forcing a time-out,” said S. Parker. “After that, we either had a lid on our basket or their bigs swatted away our shot attempts.”

Time ran out for the Chiefs and the game went to Birchwood, 56-34.

Bowe led for Cornell, with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. B. Anders and T. Parker each had 6 points, with 7 and 3 rebounds, respectively. Spangler followed that up with 5 points, 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Modl ended the night with 2 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and a steal, while H. Anders had 2 points, a rebound and a block. Stipek contributed 3 rebounds and junior Carter Haryicki added an assist.

“They scored 18 points off second and third-chance opportunities, from all the offensive rebounds we conceded,” said Parker. “We couldn’t outjump them at the rim for the vertical boards. On another positive note, we halved our team turnover total and shot 14 percent better from twopoint range from the last contest.”

Jan. 23 vs. Bruce conference (L 100-49)

Finally, it was off to Bruce, which is always a battle.

“Bruce outran us,” said S. Parker. “They passed over us, jump shot over us, rebounded over us and even dunked over us – five times.”

The scoreboard did not favor the Chiefs, as they only put up 19 points in the first half, opposed to the 61 the Raiders scored.

“We threw three different defenses at them and none seemed to make a difference,” said S. Parker.

Scoring was more even in the second half, but despite the large lead, Bruce kept their starters in and continued to apply pressure to the Chiefs, limiting their chances for a comeback and the Raiders took the victory, 100-49.

“Despite how the game turned out the way it did, I congratulated Bruce’s Ryan Popowich after the game for reaching the 1,000-point milestone, in part, to model what class looks like,” said S. Parker.

Meanwhile, Bowe is still searching for his own 1,000-point milestone, adding 12 points on the night, with 9 rebounds and an assist, while B. Anders had 13 points, 9 rebounds and a steal, and H. Anders ended with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Modl finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, with T. Parker coming up with 4 points, 5 rebounds and a steal, followed by Stipek, with 3 points. Spangler added 2 points and 2 rebounds, and Shaw had a rebound, an assist and a steal.

“The important lesson I tried to instill in my athletes, was to show sportsmanship and class at the game’s end,” said S. Parker.

Cornell now sits at 4-12 on the season and 1-9 in the East Lakeland Conference.