MOUNT VERNON - Max Schmarzo left the comforts of Palo Alto, Calif. to play college basketball at Coe, but in a sense he came home to join the Kohawks.

Both of his parents are from Iowa, they both graduated from Coe and his father, Bill, was an All-American basketball player for the Kohawks in the 1970's.

At first, the California boy was reluctant to become an Iowa boy in college.

"My parents told me to come to Coe and I'd like it," he said Tuesday night. "I said I never would, but I ended up coming here and I like it. It's kind of funny."

Schmarzo played a big role for the Kohawks Tuesday in their 72-55 victory over Cornell at the Multi-Sport Center in Mount Vernon.

The 6-foot-2 senior came off the bench to drill four 3-pointers and score 15 pointers with some fancy shooting from behind the arc.

Last season, Schmarzo had a tendency to force a few shots and lose confidence. This year, he's taking his time and finding the mark.

"He showed it tonight," said Coe Coach Bryan Martin. "He's one of the best shooters in our league. I'm really pleased with Max right now, because he's letting the game come to him.

"He stretches the defense, because you have to go out and chase him. He's been a great sixth man for us."

Schmarzo's mother is from Marion and his father is from Charles City. His grandparents still live in Iowa, but his own family has moved around the country for business reasons. His father works in the field of data analytics.

Schmarzo said the move from Palo Alto to Cedar Rapids has worked out well. "I really like it," he said. "Everyone is nice here."

The Kohawks (4-2) dug down on defense in the first half and grabbed a commanding 32-13 lead at intermission. Their biggest margin was 26 points in the second half.

"I was really pleased with our guys' defensive effort," said Martin. "We've had some games where we've been at a pretty high level on the offensive end, but we've lacked consistency throughout the games on the defensive side.

"I thought our guys were really dialed in on defense," he said.

Matt Daoust put on a shooting clinic for Coe and finished with 18 points. He nailed 8 of 11 shots from the field, including both of his 3-pointers.

The Vonderhaar brothers - JT and Matt - scored 10 points apiece for the Kohawks.

Nick Bobb poured in 28 points for Cornell (2-4). Corey Davis scored 17 points for the Rams.

COE (72): JT Vonderhaar 3 4-8 10, Fahey 0 0-2 0, Timm 3 2-2 8, M. Vonderhaar 4 0-0 10, Daoust 8 0-0 18, Pyritz 0 0-0 0, Blumberg 0 0-0 0, Meyer 2 0-0 4, Wadsworth 1 0-0 2, Vorba 0 0-0 0, Shedeck 0 0-0 0, Bernhard 0 0-0 0, Stix 1 0-0 2, Schmarzo 5 1-2 15, Everhart 1 0-0 2, Delgado 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 7-14 72.

CORNELL (55): Anderson 1 0-0 2, Hund 1 1-3 4, Bobb 9 10-12 28, Spearman 0 0-2 0, Davis 5 6-8 17, Prins 0 0-0 0, Catchings 1 2-2 4, Murdock 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 19-29 55.

Halftime - Coe 32, Cornell 13. 3-point goals - Coe 9 (Schmarzo 4, M. Vonderhaar 2, Daoust 2, Meyer 1), Cornell 2 (Hund 1, Davis 1).