MOUNT VERNON – Cornell got beat on the boards and in the paint Wednesday night, resulting in an 85-70 men's basketball loss to American Rivers Conference foe Wartburg inside the Small Sport Center.
 
Wartburg (1-0) doubled up the Rams in rebounds, 52-26, and held a 44-24 advantage in points scored in the paint. The Knights also made the most of their trips to the foul line, hitting 17-of-20 free throws in a contest they never trailed.
 
The Rams (1-2) received strong contributions from their bench, highlighted by an impressive 16-point effort from freshman Zach Ingle in only 10 minutes of action in the second half. Ingle shot 6-of-8 from the field and buried three 3-point goals.
 
Freshman guard Jayden Meeker also had a solid all-around game in a reserve role. The Mount Vernon native collected 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and two steals, while going 4-of-5 from the foul line.
 
Cornell totaled 36 bench points in all, outscoring the Knights by four.
 
The Rams got 11 points apiece from Marcus Quirk and Cooper Kabela. Quirk added five rebounds. Kabela came away with five steals.
 
The Knights, who shot 48.4 percent from the field, led 41-33 at halftime. They built their largest lead at 66-43 with a 14-3 spurt midway through the second half.
 
Cornell plays in the Buzz Levick Tournament next weekend, opening against Wisconsin Lutheran at 6 p.m. Nov. 19 in Waverly.