Iowa Wesleyan men struggle on road

MOUNT VERNON - The Iowa Wesleyan men's basketball team fell victim to Cornell College for the second time this week on Wednesday night. Four days after falling at home to the Rams, the Tiger men dropped a road game, 78-56.

Cornell College started the game on a 13-2 run, with the only two Tiger points coming off a Marvin Saintolien layup in the first two minutes. A Kaleb Cresswell jumper and a pair of Alex Dentlinger free throws helped the Tigers cut the Rams' lead back to 13-6, but Cornell wouldn't let Iowa Wesleyan get the lead below six.

The Rams led 45-31 at halftime after shooting 17-for-30 from the field, compared to Iowa Wesleyan's 11-for-31 mark. The Tigers also had eight first-half turnovers.

Iowa Wesleyan scored the first six points of the second half, four of which came off layups by Jarryd Fernandes. That cut the lead to just eight points, at 45-37, but Cornell answered right back with a 14-0 run.

Iowa Wesleyan struggled from the outside in the second half, going just 1-for-9 from beyond the 3-point mark. For the game, the Tigers were just 5-for-23 from long range.

Dentlinger scored 12 points to lead the Tigers. Fernandes ended the night with 10 points and eight rebounds. Saintolien scored nine points.

Jett Tjaden, David Seber and Jared Arellano ended the game with six points apiece. Cresswell scored four points, and Sy Sanchez finished with three.

The Tigers are now 0-2 on the year. They will be at home against Finlandia University on Saturday.