For many, it was the most fantastic athletic event witnessed in Hanover. It had drama. It had suspense. And most of all it had a climatic ending that resulted in 2,100 fans rushing the court in response to the Big Green's 54-53 win over Pennsylvania.
"This win was so special because everyone contributed," said Dartmouth co-Captain Jacob Capps '96 said. "With the fans tonight we had a true home-court advantage."
The win not only broke the Quaker's 48 game conference win streak, but also temporarily lifted the Big Green into first place in the Ivy League.
But the sweetness of Friday's win made the disappointment of Saturday's 52-41 loss to Princeton even harder for the men's basketball team to swallow.
"After such a big win against Penn the absolute last team you want to play is Princeton," Capps said. "Everyone was up for the game but in the end they hit the big shots."
The Big Green finished the weekend at 13-7 (6-2 Ivy) which leaves them in the third. Penn and Princeton share the lead, a meager game in front of the Big Green.
Dartmouth 54 Pennsylvania 53
"Ira, Ira, Ira," screamed a sold out crowd as Penn's Ira Bowman got set to attempt the front end of a one-and-one opportunity. With 0:03 left in the game and down by one, the games fate was in Bowman's hands.
The noise was deafening as Bowman let his game-tying attempt fly from the line, but it banged off the back rim. Brian Gilpin '97 and Sea Lonergan '97 leapt above four Penn defenders and simultaneously swatted the ball back towards mid court as time expired.
For the first time in almost four years the Quaker's ate the cold oats of defeat. The streak was over.
"It was just a hard fought game," Coach Dave Faucher said after the game. "Tonight we played like a team and we are a team in every sense of the word. I wish I had a game ball to hand out to each of the guys."
But usually there is a hero and Friday it was Gilpin. The 7 foot center finished with 17 points to lead all scorers, including two clutch free throw with eight seconds left that gave Dartmouth the lead.
"I just visualized standing in my back yard shooting free throws," said Gilpin who shoots 77 percent from the line. "This week I shot 90 percent in free throw practice, and I was confident I was going to make the shots."
For the night, Gilpin was seven for eight from the line.
The first half was evenly fought. Dartmouth saw its early 12-9 lead melt away when Penn went on a 13-0 run. A three-point bomb by P.J. Halas '98 and two baskets by Lonergan fueled a Dartmouth comeback.
As the first 20 ran down, Kenny Mitchell '97 fired a laser to Halas who drove baseline and dished to Gilpin. Gilpin put it in the hole as the half expired with Penn in front by only two, 29-27.
"That shot gave me confidence going into half-time," Gilpin said. "We thought it was a real momentum builder."
In the second half Dartmouth tied the game on a Mitchell drive but Penn regained the lead and built it to a seven point advantage with 10 minutes to play. Key physical rebounds by Keith Stanton '97, who continues to impress, gave Dartmouth seconds chances that kept them close.
Down by three with under four to play, Capps stole the ball and flipped it to Mitchell who found Halas. Halas drained a clutch bomb to tie the game at 50. Gilpin took it from there.
Lonergan, who was many times double teamed and at the least guarded by one of the league's best defenders in Bowman, finished the game with 11 points and five rebounds.
On Penn's win streak, which has garnered much media attention of late, the Quaker's center Tim Krug said it best, "The streak is over. It's a shame, but there is nothing you can do about it so we'll move on."
Dartmouth 41, Princeton 52
With 3:55 in the game and the shot clock at one, Princeton's Brian Earl drained a three pointer to extend the Tiger's lead to five. The Tigers never looked back as they hit nine of 10 from the line in the last three minutes to defeat the Big Green.
"We weren't as sharp defensively as you have to be against Princeton," Faucher said. "We had difficulty adjusting to their quickness. They can all put it down".
The game was much closer than the final score advertised. Down by six with 5:09 to play, Capps stole the ball and fired to a sprinting Lonergan. The 6-6 junior finished with a spectacular jam, igniting the crowd and Dartmouth seemed to be on their way to another comeback.
Thirty seconds later a Gilpin jump shot cut the lead to two, forcing Princeton head coach Pete Carril to call time out to talk to his Tigers. The result was Earl's three pointer as the shot clock expired.In the next possession for Princeton, Stanton was called for a questionable loose ball foul that the 2,100 fans that packed the sold out arena at best disagreed with. The result was two Princeton free throws off the one-and-one opportunity and a seven point lead for the Tigers.
Mitchell's three pointer off a screen from Halas closed the gap to four, but that was as close as the Big Green got. The Tigers took advantage of free throw opportunities from late fouls to extend the lead and disguise the closeness of the contest.
On the night, Princeton's stingy defense allowed Dartmouth only 46 shot attempts. The Big Green, who shoot 42 percent from the field on the season could only drain 35 percent (including 3-17 from three point range) of their attempts against the Tigers.
Princeton's intense perimeter defense practically made the inside Dartmouth's only option. Gilpin once again led all scorers with 17 points.
Dartmouth hits the road for the next two weekends. The Big Green will be at Cornell Feb.16 and Columbia the following night. Princeton still has to play Penn at Penn and Dartmouth has another crack at the Tigers in Princeton. The Ivy League championship is far from being decided.
