Box Score Box Score
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- After dominating offensively for a half, the Cornell men's basketball team watched as Minnesota's defense took over the game in the final 20 minutes and ran to a 71-54 win on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena. The Big Red surrendered an early 13-point lead in the second half in dropping its third straight game to major conference opponents, falling to 4-5 in the process. The Golden Gophers remained unbeaten, moving to 8-0 in the victory.
After Cornell opened a 13-point lead early in the second half, the Golden Gophers clamped down on the visitors, allowing Cornell just one field goal over a span of 12 minutes as part of an extended 25-2 run. Minnesota kept the momentum late, never allowing the Big Red to go on a run and holding the team to 5-of-26 shooting from the field (19 percent), including 0-of-13 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.
In a return to his hometown, junior Ryan Wittman had 21 points, including 16 in the first half, and added five rebounds and three assists. Wittman was the lone double figure scorer, as Chris Wroblewski chipped in with nine points. In his first game of the season after missing the first eight contests with a hamstring injury, junior Louis Dale fouled out in just 10 minutes of action, recording three points, three assists and a rebound. Chris Wroblewski notched nine points, while both Jeff Foote and Alex Tyler had eight apiece. Adam Wire did a great job off the bench in a career-high 30 minutes, grabbing a personal best eight rebounds with four steals and five points.
Lawrence Westbrook had 17 points and five assists off the bench to lead the unbeaten Gophers, who outscored Cornell 43-14 after halftime. Damian Johnson added 11 points and Ralph Sampson notched 10 to go along with six rebounds. Minnesota shot 57 percent from the floor in the second half, mostly on a variety of putbacks and layups caused by their pressure defense.
Cornell came out firing, playing its best basketball of the half over the final 10 minutes to stretch an early lead into double figures. Wittman hit for 16 points in the first half, including four 3-pointers, and added four rebounds and three assists without a turnover. Playing in his hometown, the junior cashed in on 5-of-10 shots from the floor. Tyler, Wroblewski and Foote also added six points in the half. Cornell turned the ball over just three times in the first 20 minutes and shot 49 percent while outrebounding the Gophers 16-15.
The Big Red opened the game by scoring the first five, including an acrobatic three-point play by Dale on the team's first possession, exciting the Cornell bench in his first series of the season after missing the team's first eight contests. The teams traded leads for the first 12 minutes before Cornell took control of the game late in the half.
After Blake Hoffarber cut a four-point deficit to one with his second 3-pointer of the half with 6:45 left to make it 24-23, the Big Red outscored the home team 16-5 the rest of the way. Wittman hit a trey, then got to the free-throw line for two shots before finding Foote alone underneath for a layup early in the run, while Adam Wire finished it with a free throw and a strong layup on a dribble drive. Cornell used a defensive stand late to make sure the Big Red took a double figure lead in the break after an offensive foul on Minnesota with nine seconds left.
The Gophers got back into the game with high-energy fullcourt pressure, forcing four Big Red turnovers in the first five minutes of the half, cutting the Cornell lead from a high of 13 down to two at 46-44 after a short jumper by Busch at the 12-minute mark. After the home team tied the game, Adam Wire's putback layup pushed Cornell to a 48-46 lead with 10:09 left in regulation. When Cornell scored its next field goal, a conventional three-point play by Wroblewski with 4:43 on the clock, Minnesota had a 10-point lead. The reserves added to the lead in the final four minutes, with the Minnesota edge going as high as 19.
After a two week break for final exams, the Big Red will return home for the first time in over a month when it plays host to La Salle on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. at Newman Arena.
