Coming off Saturday's 56-54 win over Harvard, the Big Green men's basketball team was riding a wave of adrenaline and desperate to make up for its slow start. Unfortunately, Holy Cross was not ready to roll over and die. Dartmouth fell 60-52 to the Crusaders Tuesday night, but not before treating the Leede Arena crowd to yet another thriller.
Behind defending Ivy League Rookie of the Week Leon Pattman '07, the Big Green dominated the majority of the opening half. With a stifling defense and crisp passes that transformed Holy Cross's full court press into a liability, Dartmouth appeared poised to put the visiting Crusaders away.
But as the last minutes of the first half ticked away, Holy Cross began to take control. Forcing turnovers, drawing fouls and knocking down their foul shots, the Crusaders quietly took a two-point lead before heading to the locker room.
At the start of the second half, Dartmouth returned to form. Captain Steve Callahan '05 knocked down several early three-pointers, while Pattman continued his one-man show.
The hapless Crusaders had no answer for the 19-year-old wunderkind. Scoring from inside and outside, dominating the boards and picking the Holy Cross backcourt clean, the "diaper-dandy," as Dick Vitale would say, powered the Big Green back into the lead.
Again, as Dartmouth seemed ready to pull away, Holy Cross stepped up.
For a team to press an entire game is, at the least, draining. The Crusaders not only did it, they did it well. The same defense that held nationally-ranked Louisville scoreless for a 10:42 stretch came up huge in the clutch. Despite its baffling inability to connect from anywhere besides the foul line and under the basket, Holy Cross battled furiously. Turnover after turnover, easy lay-up after easy lay-up, the Crusaders cut away at the Dartmouth lead.
But David "The Beast" Gardner '05 would not go quietly into that good night. With 4:42 left and the score 48-43 in the Big Green's favor, the Beast -- who had been quiet up to this point -- extended the Dartmouth lead to seven. When Holy Cross took a 52-50 advantage with 1:21 on the clock, Gardner answered a second time, sweeping across the lane and tying the score with a tough lay-up.
However, on this cold Hanover night, the Crusaders would prove to be too much. Retaking the lead and sealing the victory with four consecutive free throws, Holy Cross escaped Leede Arena with a win.
After the loss, Dartmouth head coach Dave Faucher reflected on game: "A tipped ball, a bad pass, a poor decision, we have to take responsibility for those mistakes, but we also cannot simulate that quickness. They are quick. That's as quick a perimeter group as you could face at any level."
"[Dartmouth] is a tough place for us to get wins," said Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard. "It's a good win, especially after our fifth game in 10 days. We're going to the movies tomorrow. I'm told it can't be R rated, though, because I think a priest is coming with us."
The Holy Cross game marks Dartmouth's sixth since the end of fall term. Over that span, the Big Green has gone 2-4. Winter break began with a tough loss at the hands of New Hampshire. Shooting a season-low 14.3 percent from three-point range, the Dec. 14 loss was, as Callahan described, "the low point of the break."
"However, we were able to bounce back in a big way by beating Maine at Maine a few nights later," Callahan said.
Holding the Black Bears to one basket in overtime, Dartmouth stole a tough win from a talented University of Maine team.
Unfortunately, the momentum from the victory over the Black Bears did not translate in a win over Lehigh four days later. Down by seven in the waning moments of the game, Callahan and Mike Lang '06 narrowed the lead to one, but despite the late run, time simply ran out on the Dartmouth squad.
Refreshed from a short break for the holidays, the Big Green looked rejuvenated on Dec. 28 against Ohio State. Playing on the road, the Dartmouth shot over 46 percent from the floor, including 52.9 percent behind the arc. At the end of the first half, Dartmouth trailed the Big Ten school by one point.
Though the Buckeyes won 71-58, the Big Green was clearly on the rise going into its first Ivy League game of the season. The Dartmouth men now knew what it was like to compete against a major basketball school, and they were not intimidated.
"That was a very winnable game that we let get away in the middle of the second half," Pattman said.
Dartmouth picked up its game at the perfect time. On Jan. 3, the Harvard Crimson came to town and gave the Big Green everything they had. Just as in the Holy Cross game, Gardner came through in the clutch, hitting three lay-ups in a two minute stretch. The Beast's late burst of scoring, coupled with Pattman's team-high 16 points, pushed Dartmouth past the Crimson 56-54.
Their record may not show it, but the Dartmouth men have played well this season. With a couple of breaks, 3-8 could be at least 7-4 and with a little luck down the road, this team could be on the verge of an Ivy League championship.
But, first things first. This coming Saturday, Jan. 10, Dartmouth travels to Cambridge with hopes of giving Harvard a second beating.
"We know that we're in for a real battle, and we're going to stand up, look them in the eye and go after them," Coach Faucher said following the Holy Cross game. "All our energy has to be for that game on Saturday. That, to us, that is what it's about."
