Cornell faces good learning experiences as season rolls

It’s getting down to the wire for the boys basketball season, and the Cornell boys team is right in the thick of competition.

Jan. 26 vs. Birchwood conference (L 55-42)

The Chiefs took to the road for a conference match-up against Birchwood, where the Bobcats had a tough time “putting away” Cornell in the first half. The Chiefs were only down by six at the break, but Birchwood stepped up their offense in the second part of the game.

“Really good first half for us…in the second half, we just went very cold from the field,” said coach Marcus Leland.

With the Chiefs struggling to make shots, Birchwood capitalized and ended up with the win, 55-42.

Sophomore Dylan Bowe led on the scoreboard, with 13 points and 7 rebounds, followed by senior Davis Harshman, with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Sophomore Blake Anders also finished the night with 10 points and 6 rebounds, while senior Austin Bowe had 4 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Freshman Daniel Person ended with 3 points and senior Jake Sikora added 2 points.

“It was exciting for us to be in a tight game, as we continue to grow as a team and improve we have to learn how to execute in those tight situations” said Leland, “and this was definitely a good learning experience for us.”

Jan. 29 vs. Bruce conference (L 75-40)

It was Cornell’s turn to host three days later, as they saw Bruce come to town. The Chiefs tried valiantly to keep up with the Raiders, but shooting went cold in the first and Cornell went into halftime, down 39-17.

“Bruce is a very good team,” said Leland.

The score was much closer in the second half, with the Chiefs picking up their offense, but it wasn’t enough to catch up to Bruce.

The conference game went to the Raiders 75-40, and Cornell’s record dropped to 2-12 overall and 2-7 in conference action.

A. Bowe had a good night, with 19 points and 4 steals, while D. Bowe came next, with 8 points and 4 steals. Sikora ended with 4 points and Harshman had 3. Anders, sophomore Jack Blaisdell and Person all added 2 points each, with Anders recording 6 rebounds.

“We did not give up against them and continued to fight the entire game against them,” said Leland. “We just could not make enough shots.”