MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Coe College men's basketball team opened its 2024-25 season with a victory on Friday evening, defeating the Cornell College Rams 90-78. Coe and Cornell were evenly matched out of the gates, trading blows across the opening ten minutes of action. The Rams used a late surge in the first half to gain control, ripping off a 7-1 run to gain a 10-point lead with under two minutes left in the half. Coe, which trailed 42-35 at the break, exploded in the second half, outscoring the hosts 13-2 in the first three minutes as
Cooper Nailor scored nine points to spark the run. Coe capitalized on the momentum and grew the lead, pushing the lead to double-digits at the midway point of the half. The Kohawks maintained their comfortable lead for the remainder of the contest, fighting off a late surge from the Rams in the final two minutes. In total, Coe outscored Cornell 55-36 in the second half with Nailor scoring 17 points in the closing 20 minutes. Nailor's 23 total points led the team while
Bennett Sherry posted 21 with six boards and five assists.
Cole Hrubes and
Duece Walters also eclipsed the double-figure mark in the win, adding 11 points each.
COE 90 - CORNELL 78
GAME FACTS
- The teams felt one another out early in the matchup, trading buckets across the first 10 minutes. The Rams got a quick spark to take the first significant lead, getting seven unanswered points to go up 31-23 with 7:25 to play in the period. The Kohawks slowly chipped away at the deficit, pulling back to within three as Sherry converted a pair of free throws to make it 35-31 at the four-minute mark. Cornell managed to score seven of the final 11 points in the period, taking a 42-35 lead to the locker room. Nailor was on a mission out of the halftime break, scoring four consecutive buckets for Coe to quickly eliminate the Cornell lead. Hrubes then gave the Kohawks the lead for good on the final possession with two freebies at the line. Coe never looked back after grabbing the lead, immediately stretching it to seven with buckets from Jackson Bowman, Nailor and Ryan Dolphin. Walters helped push the lead past double-digits before the midway point of the period, scoring four straight points to make it 59-49. Coe saw out the closing minutes of the victory, holding off any comeback efforts with strong defense and consistent offense as the Rams never got closer than nine points off the lead.
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