Catamount means mountain lion, and is short for cat of the mountain. The Big Green discovered this yesterday when the Vermont Catamounts strutted into Leede Arena and walked out with a 64-61 victory.
As Vermont Coach Tom Brennan said after the game, Dartmouth "could have just as easily won it." Perhaps, but the realization does little to alleviate the sting inherent in such a loss.
After playing superbly for much of the second half, the Big Green still found themselves down four, 62-58, with 2:42 remaining, after Vermont star Eddie Benton swished two foul shots.
After several unproductive trips down the floor for both teams, Kenny Mitchell '97 was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound in traffic.
Mitchell hit the front end of his one-and-one, but missed the second. But the Big Green ripped away another offensive rebound, leaving them behind by a mere point, 62-61, with 34 seconds to work some magic.
Whatever sleight-of-hand they tried went flat. After a Dartmouth time-out, Mitchell took some time off the clock, then drove inside, and dished it out to Jacob Capps '96, open on the left wing. Capps squared and launched a crucial trey, hitting nothing but iron. The rebound bounced to Vermont.
The Catamounts passed it ahead to Nelson, who was fouled by Brian Gilpin '97 just before he could throw down a game-breaking dunk.
The Big Green was not on the respirator yet (although the crowd may have been). There were seven seconds left, the deficit was still a single point, and Nelson, after all, had missed the front end of a one-and-one just one minute before. This time, he sunk it.
Dartmouth coach David Faucher called a time-out to unnerve the 6-foot-7 freshman, but the Pittsburgh native steeled himself and delivered, hitting the second shot for a daunting 64-61 advantage.
With seven seconds left, Mitchell drove down the court. Some confusion ensued as Jamie Halligan '95 and Sea Lonergan '97 got tangled up. Halligan was forced to arc a prayer, which missed its mark. The Green went down, 64-61.
The loss stunned the players, fans and coaches alike. The crowd filed out quietly, dizzied by the range of emotions that marked the last two minutes. The defeat was more painful because the Big Green had surged in the second half, shaking off their first-half doldrums.
In the second half, the Green spun off a 12-4 run, and took a 45-43 lead with 11:05 to play. For the next six minutes, the Green and the Catamounts exchanged points and leads.
Then, with 4:23 to play, Benton hit his only three-pointer of the game to begin a decisive 7-0 run that won the game for the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont.
The first half was sluggish for both teams, as Dartmouth shot eight for 30; in one span scoring on only one of 11 possessions.
The Green defense held Vermont's offense to four for 17 shooting from behind the three-point arc, and very few open shots.
As Coach Faucher commented, "we marked their three-point shooters extremely well ... say what you want, they weren't open."
The Dartmouth defense held Benton to six of 21 shooting. Benton, a junior, has placed in the top 15 in the NCAA in scoring average in the last two years.
The Big Green face New Hampshire at home Monday.
