ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell pulled away from a hot-shooting Army team and used an outstanding performance from junior Brian Kreefer to knock off the Black Knights 93-78 on Tuesday evening at Newman Arena. The victory moves the Big Red to 2-1 on the season, while Army falls to 1-3.

The preseason Ivy League favorites shook off Army with a 17-4 run early in the second half and opened the game up late behind five double figure scorers. Kreefer, who had played just three minutes in the team's first two contests of the year, scored 21 points and added two rebounds, three assists and two steals. He was part of a bench effort that combined for 45 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists on the afternoon. Junior Jason Battle and sophomore Andre Wilkins provided energy and defense, each posting five rebounds, an assist and a steal without a turnover.

The regulars also added to the win. Sophomore Louis Dale had 17 points and seven assists, classmate Ryan Wittman added 16 points and a career-best seven rebounds, junior Collin Robinson had a career-high 16 points and junior Adam Gore posted 10 points. The Big Red hit on 31-of-38 free throws, including 20-of-23 after halftime, and connected on 10-of-23 3-pointers on the afternoon.

Army was led by Jarell Brown's 30 points and Josh Miller's 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the loss. The Black Knights shot 50 percent for the game, but turned the ball over 23 times in the loss and were outrebounded 31-28.

Army jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead just three minutes into the contest, but Gore hit a 3-pointer off a nice feed from Dale to end the run and give the home team some momentum heading into the first media timeout. The Black Knights pushed the lead back to 11-5, as Moonshower's jumper was the team's fourth make in five attempts to open the game. A 3-pointer by Collin Robinson brought the deficit back to three. Army would not wilt, extending the lead right back to 20-13 after a Jarell Brown 3-pointer with 12 minutes left in the first half. A conventional three-point play by Brian Kreefer on a need from Dale got the Big Red back into the flow with 10 minutes to play.

Cornell finally made its run, starting with a layup by Robinson off the dribble. Kreefer continued to spark the run with two rebounds and a drawn charge, while Wilkins had a steal and layup to tie the score at 22-22. Kreefer then found a wide open Gore in the left corner for a 3-pointer that gave the Big Red its first lead at 25-22 with 8:27 left in the half.

Army got the lead right back and was up 37-33 with two mintues to play in the half when a three-point play opportunity by Dale was waved off. The sophomore calmly hit both shots from the stripe to make it a two-point game. The Big Red tied the game on a Kreefer layup with 45 seconds to play and went into the break with a three-point lead when Wittman canned a wide open trey off the break with 15 seconds left in the half to send Cornell into halftime with a 40-37 lead.

Cornell opened the lead to six (49-44) after Robinson's free throw with 15:13 to play in regulation, but consecutive buckets by Army got the Black Knights right back to within 49-48. After Army took the lead at 54-53, Kreefer continued his roll with a three-point play to put Cornell back in the lead at 56-54 with 11:39 left, then after turning the Black Knights over, Dale hit a trey and was fouled on the shot. His charity shot gave him a rare four-point play and made it a 60-54 Cornell lead.

The run ballooned to 17-4 when Kreefer found Robinson for Cornell's ninth 3-pointer of the afternoon and then hit a pair of free throws, followed by four more from Andre Wilkins, to make it 71-58 with 7:30 to play.

The visitors cut the deficit to 10 with 6:20 left but couldn't get any closer the rest of the way as the Big Red continued to pour on the points. A pull-up jumper by Robinson and Jason Battle free throws on consecutive possessions made it an 81-66 edge with just over four to play. From there, Dale took over, hitting a free throw, then completing a three-point play to make it a 15-point game with 2:28 on the clock. Army got it back to within 12 on a trey by Brown, giving him 30 points on the evening. The Big Red never allowed the lead to get back within 12 points.

Cornell returns to action after the Thanksgiving Break when it will face preseason Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference favorite Siena on Sunday, Nov. 25 at noon at Newman Arena.