Box Score * Box Score
* Press conference video
AMHERST, Mass. -- The Cornell men's basketball team methodically pulled away from Massachusetts and came away with a 74-61 victory in the first round of the Legends Classic on Wednesday evening at the Mullins Center. Despite the win, the Big Red will not get a chance to play in the championship round, as the tournament matchups were predetermined. Cornell will play at Drexel against Toledo, Vermont and the host Dragons from Nov. 27-29 in Philadelphia.
Senior guard Louis Dale tied his career high with 24 points and added four assists and four steals, while classmate Geoff Reeves chipped in 16 points. Senior Jeff Foote had 10 points and nine rebounds, with Adam Wire posting an impressive seven points, seven rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes without a turnover. Cornell was able to earn the hard-fought victory despite just nine combined points from starters Ryan Wittman, Chris Wroblewski and Alex Tyler thanks to a bench that totalled 31 points.
The Big Red took a 33-28 lead into halftime despite not getting a whole lot of offense from the big three of Dale, Foote and Wittman and getting pounded on the boards by the more athletic Minutement. The trio combined for just 12 total points, while the Big Red trailed on the boards 24-10 at halftime. The Big Red made up for it on defense. The visitors held UMass to 35 percent shooting, including 20 percent from 3-point range (1-of-5). Cornell also forced 11 turnovers (scoring 16 points off them) and had three steals and three blocked shots. The 3-point shot again was the difference as Cornell conencted on 4-of-11 from deep, with Reeves hitting both of is shots en route to a team-best eight first-half points.
Ricky Harris had nine points in the first half to lead all scorers. The Minutemen went more than 17 minutes before assisting on their first basket, needing to go 1-on-1 for nearly all of their offense over the first 20 minutes.
UMass led 5-1 early, but the Big Red caught up quickly and went ahead for the first time in the first half when Reeves hit a fallaway jumper at 16:17, then drained a 3-pointer from the wing 50 seconds later to push the lead to four. UMass would tie it briefly at 9-9, but Groebe scored his first Cornell points with a trey from the corner to make it 12-9. Cornell's defense was able to sustain the lead, limiting the Minutemen to 33 percent shooting in the first nine minutes. A monsterous Foote block with 4:30 left, followed by a Reeves block to force a 35-second shot clock violation was further proof. The Big Red run never materialized in the first half though, as Cornell led by as many as eight, but UMass was able to continuously get back to within four.
Foote dunked back a Wroblewski miss on the first possession of the second half as the vistors methodically took the lead to 12 twice in the next in the first eight minutes. The Minutemen wouldn't allow the Big Red to pull away, cutting the deficit to six before Cornell again went out to a 12-point edge (61-49). UMass never again really challenged, and Cornell hit on all six of its free throws in the final three minutes to clinch the victory.
The Big Red will open the home portion of its schedule on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. when it hosts Seton Hall of the Big East.
