"There hasn't been a Dartmouth team since '59 that has done any better," exulted Dartmouth Coach Dave Faucher after his Big Green beat Cornell Saturday night.
With wins over Columbia and Cornell this weekend, the Big Green finish their season with a tremendous 10-4 mark in the Ivies (13-13 overall) and will tie for second place if Princeton loses at Pennsylvania this week.
Senior Captain Jamie Halligan went out with a bang, scoring 21 against Cornell to go with nine rebounds and some sparkling assists to Sea Lonergan '97. On the weekend, Halligan scored 37 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and dished out six assists. "We all love [Halligan]," Jacob Capps '96 said. "He's a great player and a great person."
Faucher said "I've been a head coach four years. [Assistant Coaches] Mike Maker and Mike Fulcher have walked every step in those four years. The only other person day in and year round was Jamie Halligan."
Faucher added that Halligan was "a really fine offensive player, a fine passer and a good shooter, with a quick first step."
Halligan played 37 minutes in Sunday's finale, receiving a warm standing ovation from the crowd and bear-hugs from his teammates when he left the game.
Other stars this weekend were Brian Gilpin '97, who shattered the Dartmouth single-season record for blocks. Tied with Walter Palmer '90 for the record going into the weekend, Gilpin made it his own, notching five against Columbia and two against Cornell. Ninety-two is the new number to beat.
Lonergan leads the Ivies in scoring, averaging 18.5 per game, with only the Princeton-Pennsylvania game remaining.
Dartmouth 77, Cornell 56
In Saturday's game, the Big Green dominated coming out of the blocks, taking a 15-5 lead. After Cornell closed to 19-18, Dartmouth dismantled the Big Red, slowly building its lead. A nine-point halftime lead ballooned to 24 with six minutes left before Faucher let the second-team have its fun.
Jay Danzi '98 hit a trey with less than a minute left for Dartmouth's last points of the season.
Halligan and Lonergan, the team's two leading scorers, each scored 21 to pace Dartmouth, while Capps added 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Big Green held Cornell's top players to atrocious shooting performances, holding Brian Kopf to a puny one of 16 and Eddie Samuel a measly six of 18. Overall, Cornell shot 27.1 percent, shooting up brick after brick.
Dartmouth 69, Columbia 67
With 10:11 remaining in Friday night's Columbia game, it appeared Dartmouth had blown its chance at second place in the Ivy League against the hapless Columbia Lions, a team that had lost 13 of its last 14 games coming into the evening.
Columbia led 56-45, equalling its largest lead of the game. Gilpin was on the bench with four fouls, and Dartmouth could not seem to get any momentum together.
Time and time again Dartmouth had sparked the crowd with what looked like the beginnings of a rally, and time and time again the Lions came back to kill it. Dartmouth had only strung two baskets together three times all evening.
But, with Dartmouth's claim on second place in the League on the line, the team rallied.
Capps drained a three-pointer from the right wing off a feed from Lonergan to cut the lead to eight and start the comeback.
Dartmouth kept plugging away. Two free throws by Lonergan and a 17-footer from Columbia sophomore Tony Doyle set the stage for a three-pointer by Lonergan from the top of the key to chip the lead to 58-53.
The Dartmouth defense was stifling as the team's matchup zone became more aggressive. Double-teams began to fluster the Lions, who hit only one field goal in the game's final eight-and-a-half minutes.
With 5:25 to play, Halligan drained an open trey off a sweet dish from Kenny Mitchell '97 that brought the crowd to its feet.
A driving 10-footer from Halligan and an 18-footer from Mitchell cut the lead to two, at 62-60, forcing a time-out by Columbia.
But the Capps was called for a hack on Columbia's next possession, and he drew a quick technical foul for his "display" after the call. Three free-throws later, Columbia had possession and a 65-60 lead.
Dartmouth was not finished yet. A Gilpin put back off a Lonergan miss and a bucket from Mitchell in the paint cut the lead to 65-64 with two minutes to play.
Columbia bricked a three pointer and, after a Dartmouth time-out, Gilpin soared above the rim to stick back a Lonergan miss and give Dartmouth a 66-65 lead, its first since midway through the first half.
Gilpin stuffed Columbia on the other end, and Dartmouth spread out the offense with less than a minute to play.
With 18 seconds left Columbia's Matt Fuchs fouled Lonergan, who drained the first of the one-and-one. But the bonus clanked out and Columbia took over possession.
But it was not to be for the Lions.
Fuchs drove the length of the court and missed. Boris Piskun grabbed the board and got a good look from 10 feet that was blocked. Finally Doyle missed a shot from nine feet. Halligan grabbed the board and was quickly fouled with two seconds left.
Halligan coolly stepped to the line and drained both ends of a one-and-one, sealing the Dartmouth victory and making Columbia's last second dunk immaterial.
Lonergan and Gilpin lead the team with 16 points each. Gilpin pulled down 11 rebounds.
This last game of the year signifies a coming of age for the team's sophomores.
Capps, who will be a senior for next year's championship-challengers, said "he would love to be a leader on next year's team." "We have the deepest team in the Ivy League," he said.
Faucher, when questioned about next year's chances, said "We'll be a contending team. Every game will be a battle, though."
With four starters returning and several young stars waiting their turn, the Dartmouth men will definitely be in the thick of next year's Ivy race.
