GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After Bethel scored the first bucket of the game, Cornerstone took the lead and never gave it back, holding off a pesky Pilots squad in an 85-79 home victory. The Golden Eagles saw six players score in double-figures as the team wins their third straight game to improve to 3-1 on the year. The next scheduled game for CU is Thursday, November 19 in the WHAC regular season opener at Indiana Tech. Action set to begin at 8 p.m. in Fort Wayne.
What you need to know?
- Cornerstone got off to a great start defensively, blocking three early Bethel shots to get out to a 7-2 lead two and a half minutes into the game.
- Back-to-back threes by Drew Knickerbocker and Kyle Hayes made it 18-11 and forced Bethel into the timeout with 13:35 to play in the half.
- Tyler Baker drive and score through the lane brought the lead to double-figures for the first time with 11:12 to play in the first half as CU held a 24-14 advantage.
- Cory Ainsworth started to take his defensive work to the offensive end scoring an and one to increase the lead to 12 at 31-19.
- The CU defense stifled the Pilots for a large chunk of the first half, holding BU to six points in six minutes to lead 38-27.
- After Riley Costen hit a floater and Christian Rodriguez drained a three, Bethel scored five quick points in the final minute to bring the Cornerstone lead to nine at the break, 43-34.
- The Pilots chipped away early in the second half outscoring the Golden Eagles 14-7 in the first five minutes to force CU into a timeout with just a two-point lead at 50-48.
- Out of the timeout, Tyler Baker hit a big three to bring the advantage back to five.
- Drew Knickerbocker caught fire mid second half, scoring nine straight points, including two threes, to bring the Golden Eagle lead quickly back to 11 at 62-51.
- A jumper by TreVion Crews for Bethel with 7:39 to play brought the game back to just one at 67-66, but Kyle Hayes recorded a big response off the Pilot turnover with a dunk off the assist from Riley Costen to make it 69-66.
- With 5:42 to play, Zac Owens hit a three for the Pilots to finally break even and tie the game at 71.
- Cory Ainsworth returned to the game and caused havoc scoring a big layup and recording a huge block to make it 77-73 with 3:12 to play.
- Christian Rodriguez and Gabe Meriwether each came up with huge steals that led to another bucket for CU to make it 79-73 with 1:50 remaining.
- After a pair of missed free throws in a one-and-one situation, Bethel was able to cut it back to two points. Riley Costen brought down a huge offensive rebound however and got to the line to bring the lead back to four at 81-77 with 34 seconds to play.
- Cornerstone did their job at the free throw line down the stretch as Tyler Baker and Christian Rodriguez each hit a pair to hold on and earn the 85-79 victory for the teams third straight win.
By the Numbers
9/7 – Cornerstone tallied nine blocks in the game with seven of those in the first half. This is the most blocks by the Golden Eagles since November 29, 2019 when they recorded 10 vs. Hope College.
5/6 – Freshman
Eli Steffen came off the bench to lead the team with five assists and tie the team high with six rebounds.
18 –
Christian Rodriguez led the six Golden Eagles who scored double-figures with 18 points in the win.
9 – Each team hit nine threes in the game.
3 - Freshman
Eli Steffen also recorded a team high three steals in the win.
What's Next?
As CU continues to navigate cancelations and rescheduling, the Golden Eagles next scheduled game is the WHAC regular season opener at receiving votes Indiana Tech on Thursday, November 19 for an 8 p.m. tip.
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