Wartburg College joined the 1,000-win club in NCAA Division III men’s basketball with a thrilling 77-74 win over Cornell Friday, Feb. 6, at the Small Multi-Sports Center in Mount Vernon. The victory also moved the Knights to 14-5 overall and 8-3 in the Iowa Conference for the 2003-04 season.
Junior post player Alan Johnson of Cedar Falls canned a pair of free throws with 21 seconds remaining to put Wartburg up 75-74. The Rams (7-13 overall, 5-7 IIAC) got an inside shot from senior guard Andy Fox on the ensuing possession that rimmed out and was rebounded by Johnson. Sophomore guard Jason Steege of Fredericksburg added two more charity stripe shots with eight seconds left to post the final margin as senior forward Matt Ditch’s three-pointer in the final seconds fell short.
Steege led all scorers, tallying 23 points on seven-of-10 shooting from the field. Sophomore forward Joel Formanek of Belle Plaine added 21, canning seven-of-10 three-point attempts and missing the school’s single-game record by one.
Cornell held a 33-31 halftime advantage on a Fox three-pointer at the horn. The home team upped the ante to 61-48 with under 10 minutes to play before Wartburg began to whittle away.
Sophomore Dan McClanahan led the Rams with 17 points, nine assists and four steals. Fox was second high with 16.
NOTES – Wartburg climbed within two games of the IIAC leaders as No. 6-ranked Buena Vista was toppled by Coe 86-71.