Men's Hoops Opens Legends Classic At UMass on Wednesday

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ITHACA, N.Y. – After picking up its biggest road win in many years, the Cornell men’s basketball team will look for an encore performance when it meets Massachusetts on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mullins Center. Barry Leonard will provide the call on 93.5 WVBR-FM, which can be heard live on the internet as part of the RedCast subscription service.

Cornell earned a hard-fought 71-67 victory over Alabama on Nov. 14, with senior Ryan Wittman scoring a game-high 23 points. In a return to his home state, senior Louis Dale netted 13 points, assisted on five baskets and ripped down four rebounds. Senior center Jeff Foote added 17 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots to dominate the paint. The victory was the first over an SEC team in 37 years and spoiled the debut of first-year Crimson Tide coach Anthony Grant.

The two-time defending Ivy League champions will also return junior guard Max Groebe to his former school. Groebe played his freshman season at UMass, averaging 2.1 points per game for the 25-11 Minutemen squad that was the NIT runner-up.

The Minutemen struggled shooting the ball in their opener, an 84-67 loss at Central Florida, but still have a talented roster. Picked to finish ninth in the always competitive Atlantic 10 conference, UMass is led by one of its all-time great players, Derek Kellogg, who is in his second season directing the program. Senior Ricky Harris is the leading returning scorer in the A-10 and hit for 15 points in the opener of the Golden Knights.