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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Senior guard Louis Dale fell just short of the first triple-double in Cornell men's basketball history, but the Big Red had plenty in its tank to knock off Toledo 78-60 on Friday afternoon at Drexel's Daskalakis Athletic Center. The game was the second of four games in the 2009 Legends Classic. The Big Red improved to 3-2, while the Rockets slipped to 0-4.



Dale ended the afternoon with 14 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals while not turning the ball over in 33 outstanding minutes. He had opportunities late for the triple-double, but saw Jeff Foote wrestle a loose ball away and then had a pair of open 3-pointers missed by teammates that could have gone for the 10th assist. He led four players in double figures, as senior Ryan Wittman had a game-high 20 points, Geoff Reeves had 14 and Alex Tyler scored 10 points. Senior Jeff Foote notched a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double to round out the five double figure scorers. The Big Red won despite hitting just 32 percent of its shots from 3-point range (7-of-22)  despite repeatedly getting open looks with its ball movement. Cornell assisted on 18 baskets in the win.

Freshmen Stephen Albrecht (20) and Jake Barnett (13) were impressive in the loss. Toledo cut a 15-point second half deficit to three before the seasoned seniors took over the game for the Big Red.

After a tightly contested first 15 minutes, the Big Red used a defensive spark and some hot shooting from beyond the arc to turn a 30-27 lead into a 41-27 edge at the break. Wittman hit a trey and Reeves scored on two others, while Dale scored on an acrobatic tip-in. Dale had an impressive line of eight points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals without a turnover in the first 20 minutes, while Wittman scored 12. The Big Red went 10 players deep on day one of the three-day showcase. The Cornell defense limited Toledo to 38 percent shooting in the first hakf and forced nine turnovers. Albrecht had 10 points to lead the Rockets.

The Big Red go the game off on the right foot, winning the tap and having Dale find Foote for an alley-oop to open the game, but Toledo's hot shooting kept it close early. The Rockets hit on 5of-8 shots to open the game, including forcing a timeout after getting an easy layup to go up 11-7 just over four minutes into the game. A great pass from Dale to Adam Wire put the Big Red back into the lead at 13-11, then a Dale fallaway jumper hit nothing but net to push Cornell's edge to four.

The Cornell defense stiffened the rest of the half, limiting Toledo to 6-of-21 shooting (29 percent) from the floor in the final 15 minutes. The Big Red finally went on a big run to end the half. A Larry Baskerfield jumper in the paint made it 30-27 with 3:04 left, but a ferocious Cornell defense took over.

The Rockets missed all three field goal attempts and committed a pair of turnovers in the final three minutes of the half, and Cornell scored on its final four possessions to go into the break with a sizable advantage.

Tyler scored on the opening two possessions of the second half, picked up a steal and was fouled on another. His two free throws with 17:23 remaining put Cornell ahead 47-32. Toledo wasn't finished. It embarked on a 13-2 run to get back within 56-53 with 10 minutes to play, including consecutive 3-point  baskets by Jake Barnett and Jay Shunnar. Wittman hit a dagger on an inbounds pass to push it back to five.

Cornell brought the advantage back to 10 at the under-eight minute timeout (65-55) and hit free throws down the stretch to extend the lead to nearly 20 points before the final horn.

The Big Red will be back in action tomorrow for game three of the tournament when it faces Vermont at 2 p.m. at Daskalakis Athletic Center.