Blue Jays stumble in first loss

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Westminster College Blue Jays couldn't escape what appeared to be a Thanksgiving haze.

Westminster shot a dreadful 27 percent in the first half and was unable to overcome a 20-point deficit in suffering its first loss of the season Friday night, 76-69 to Cornell (Iowa) College at the Nebraska Wesleyan Snyder Classic.

"We came out extremely flat, unenthusiastic and sloppy," Blue Jays head coach Matt Mitchell said. "We missed several easy shots in the first half and dug ourselves a hole."

Westminster (2-1) converted just 8-of-30 shots in the first 20 minutes and went into halftime down 38-25. The Blue Jays eventually trailed by 20 points twice in the second half, the latter time at 49-29 after Cornell's Grant Anderson scored on a layup with 16 minutes, 3 seconds left in the game.

Westminster fought its way back, scrambling within 68-61 on junior forward Romo Tabb's layup with 2:32 to play. The Rams, though, knocked down all eight of their free-throw attempts in the final 2:22 to seal the victory.

Junior guard Jimmy Villalobos connected for 15 points to guide three players in double figures for the Blue Jays, who shot 39 percent (25-of-65) for the game. Tabb produced all 13 of his points in the second half and sophomore guard Cody Shaw came off the bench to add 11.

Villalobos grabbed a team-high four rebounds as Westminster was overpowered on the boards by a 46-27 margin.

"This will be an extremely valuable learning experience for our guys," Mitchell said. "We need to prepare better and that starts with me.

"Early foul trouble hurt us, but we have to maintain our discipline and understand that it is a 40-minute game."

Jon Anderson - who was 8-of-9 from the field - put up a game-high 22 points to direct three players in double figures for Cornell (2-0), which shot 53 percent (25-of-47) as a team. Corey Davis made 7-of-10 shots and followed with 21 points, while Grant Anderson had 10.

The Blue Jays wrapped up play in the Classic against host Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday night. Results were not available at press time.