Marshall Shedeck spent most of last season on the bench for the Coe College basketball team as an understudy to an all-conference performer and produced very modest numbers.

What a difference a year has made.

Shedeck made his first start Tuesday night and stuffed the stat sheet as the Kohawks defeated Cornell, 80-65, at Eby Fieldhouse for their eighth straight victory over the Rams.

Shedeck, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Oxford Junction, finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists as Coe began the season in style. He had a big steal and crowd-pleasing dunk to give the Kohawks a 68-57 lead with 3:43 left to help keep the pesky Rams at bay.

Shedeck averaged only 3.8 minutes per game last season as an understudy behind JT Vonderhaar, who was one of the top players in the Iowa Conference during his career. Vonderhaar graduated and Shedeck has moved smoothly into the starting lineup.

Coach Bryan Martin said last week that Shedeck had a chance to really help the club this year.

"Before I left for the summer, Coach told me that 'You can define your role of what you want to be on this team next year,'" he related. "That really meant a lot to me, so I worked a lot this summer, whether it was in the weight room or in the gym getting up shots."

Playing against Vonderhaar in practice last year helped Shedeck improve.

"JT is a great inside presence, and I really learned from him that when you get the ball in there, go up strong," he said. "I was more of a finesse player, I was more of a guard coming out of high school (at North Cedar). Going up against him in practice I learned a lot of toughness."

Martin calls Shedeck a "stretch" power forward because he play inside and outside. Shedeck hit a pair of 3-pointers and showed his versatility when he stole the ball and drove for the rousing dunk.

"That's fun stuff," he said of the jam.

Shedeck topped a balanced attack for the Kohawks. Trevor Haaland, a transfer from Wayne State, scored 14 points for Coe. Matt Vonderhaar (JT's younger brother) had 13 points. Jake Timm finished with a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Christian Fahey and Matt Meyer added 10 points apiece.

"They took care of business down the stretch, which was good to see," Martin said. "Credit Cornell. They just wouldn't go away.

"Our guys didn't panic and made plays down the stretch to pull away and finally get some breathing room, so that was good to see."

Corey Davis, a quick guard with an uncanny knack for getting to the rim, led Cornell with 25 points. Craig Engle, a freshman from Marion High School, scored 11 points for the Rams.

CORNELL (65): Carter 2 0-0 6, Anderson 2 3-6 8, Dyer 2 1-2 5, Engle 3 4-4 11, Davis 10 5-7 25, Murdock 0 0-0 0, Spearman 2 0-0 4, Siegien 1 4-4 6, Fleming 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 17-23 65.

COE (80): Haaland 4 4-4 14, Shedeck 7 1-3 17, Fahey 3 4-7 10, Timm 2 7-8 11, Vonderhaar 4 2-2 13, Jirak 0 0-0 0, Meyer 3 4-6 10, Halupnik 0 0-0 0, Vorba 2 0-0 5, Pflughaupt 0 0-0 0, Wadsager 0 0-0 0, Constable 0 0-0 0, Reichelt 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 22-30 80.

Halftime - Coe 34, Cornell 26. 3-point goals - Cornell 4 (Carter 2, Anderson 1, Engle 1), Coe 8 (Vonderhaar 3, Haaland 2, Shedeck 2, Vorba 1).