Around the Rim with Brian Delaney and the Ithaca Journal

Cornell's Louis Dale goes up for a shot against St. Joseph's Idris Hilliard, center and Carl Baptiste during the first half of Cornell's 78-66 win Sunday afternoon in Newman Arena.

Cornell's Dale makes most of playing time on basketball floor

By Brian Delaney
Ithaca Journal (Around the Rim blog)
December 8, 2009

Louis Dale has probably never played a better six-assist, five-point, four-foul, three-turnover, two-steal, one-block game in his four seasons at Cornell.

Dale's name was one of the first praised by Cornell coach Steve Donahue in the aftermath of Sunday's 78-66 victory over Saint Joseph's, which pushed the Big Red (7-2) to its best start through nine games since the 1967-68 team opened 8-1.

"I thought Louis played well," Donahue said. "He didn't play a whole lot of minutes, but he was so aggressive from the start."

Dale's play was a carry-over from Wednesday's Bucknell game. Not the first two halves, which Dale admitted weren't his best, but the five-minute overtime. He took over in the extra session by hitting two buckets, setting up two others and teaming with Adam Wire on a steal. It was like he flipped a switch.

"I felt like the whole game I was out of rhythm," Dale said, referring to the first 40 minutes.

Against the Hawks, Dale's defense forced multiple turnovers; he was active on the glass and successfully dribbled into the teeth of St. Joe's defense before kicking out or dumping off to teammates for open looks. His one-handed pass to Geoff Reeves for a 3 in the first half was a thing of beauty.

His shots didn't fall, he was 1-for-7, but Cornell didn't need them.

His pull-up 3 early in the shot clock on Cornell's second possession of the second half kick-started a 12-0 spurt en route to a 25-4 run. Halfway through, Dale picked up his third foul on a phantom reach-in. He drew his fourth with 11:30 left in regulation on a terrific defensive play by Charoy Bentley, who took a charge in the open court.

For Dale, this was nothing like his utterly forgettable showing in the Seton Hall loss on Nov. 20. This was more akin to his efforts in the Alabama and Massachusetts victories.

Quotable

Donahue, on senior Jon Jaques' 15-point outing Sunday in his first Cornell start: "It doesn't surprise me. In all honesty, it doesn't surprise me because the kid plays like that in practice for four years. He just hasn't gotten the opportunity."

Inside the Ivy

* When Cornell scored 104 points last Wednesday at Bucknell, it marked the first Ivy team to crack triple digits against a Division I opponent since Penn beat Lafayette, 105-73 on Jan. 16, 2006. The league's all-time high for a game is 118, scored by Princeton against Wichita State in 1965, and by Columbia against Wagner in 1977.

* At 7-2, Cornell's RPI is No. 28.

* Columbia sophomore Noruwa Agho is shooting 64 percent from 3-point land through seven games, tops in Division I.

* In his last two games against BCS opponents, Harvard's Jeremy Lin is averaging 28.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.5 steals. He had 30 points in Sunday's six-point loss at No. 13 Connecticut.

* Don't sleep on Princeton yet. The Tigers (3-4) have endured their non-league struggles under Sydney Johnson, whose rotation appears to be in constant flux, but their makeup, style and Johnson's toughness will give Ivies fits in February. Keep an eye on emerging sophomore Patrick Saunders, a 6-7 forward.

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Weekly honors

Cornell freshman Errick Peck was named Ivy League Men's Basketball Rookie of the Week on Monday, primarily for his 13-point performance at Bucknell. He also grabbed three rebounds and blocked two shots. Lin was player of the week.