The Dartmouth men's basketball team hit the road this weekend, hunting for victories at Brown and at Yale. With solid team efforts surrounding the sharp shooting of Sea Lonergan '97, Brian Gilpin '97 and P.J. Halas '98, the Big Green pelted their hosts for two big wins.
The two victories improved Dartmouth to 12-6 and an all important 5-1 in the Ivy League.
"It was a terrific weekend, and I am so proud of my guys," Coach Dave Faucher said. "The team really responded."
Lonergan led the way for the Big Green both nights with 24 points against Yale and 18 in the Big Green's gutsy comeback at Brown. Still leading the League in scoring with 19 points per game, Lonergan is a likely candidate for a third Ivy League Player of the Week honors.
"It was an unbelievable weekend," Lonergan said. "It felt great to sweep two tough Ivy League games on the road like this." Dartmouth shot superbly on the trip, shooting 45.7 percent from the field at Brown and improving to over 47 percent at Yale. Dartmouth is second only to Princeton in league shooting percentage.
Dartmouth 64 Brown 60
If one ever find oneself under attack by a bear, he should not call 911 but instead the Dartmouth hoops team. No matter how bad the situation, the Big Green will probably find a way to bail one out.
Although they were down by 12 with under seven minutes remaining in the game, the Big Green clawed their way back to beat the Brown Bears in Providence. Dartmouth scored an amazing 14 times in its last 15 possessions.
Halas drained six straight free throws down the stretch, and Dartmouth hit its last 10 charity stripe tosses to ice the victory.
"The effort to win was incredible" Faucher said. "This win was very special because it was so gutsy."
The first half was a seesaw battle that left Dartmouth down by seven, 27-20 at the break. The Big Green scored in spurts to cut the Bear's lead to five early in the second, but they could not trap the Bears, who eventually extended the lead to 12. That's when Faucher called a crucial time out.
In the huddle, the team took control of themselves. "I told the team to pull it together and stop bickering," co-Captain Jacob Capps '96 said. "We knew we could win if we just started playing like a team."
And the team responded. Kenny Mitchell '97 and Halas hit two apiece from the line. Then Lonergan (18 pts., 7 rebs) drove baseline and banked it in as he was fouled.
"We knew we were still in it if we just kept chipping away at their lead," Lonergan said. "It was just an unbelievable team effort."
Lonergan's three point play seemed to be the spark for Dartmouth which was then down by seven. A cool three point bomb by Capps and a driving baseline facial slam by Gilpin added some fuel to the comeback fire.
Dartmouth was down 48-50 as Brown called time with just over three to play.
But nothing could cool down Dartmouth. Lonergan hit two from the field knotting the score at 52. The play of the game came when Mitchell stole the ball from a wounded Bear and hurled it to a sprinting Lonergan who dutifully laid it in. It was only Dartmouth's second lead of the game, but the Big Green never looked back.
Cornered, the Bears tried to stop the Big Green by fouling. Mitchell was clawed on the floor putting Dartmouth in the bonus, and his trip to the line was the first of five for the squad. Mitchell made it 56-53.
In a last ditch attempt, the Bears attacked P.J. Halas and fouled him the next three times down the court. Halas responded with nothing but net.
"This week I was getting so much grief because I told everyone I wasn't going to miss a foul shot all year, but I missed at Navy," Halas said. "So Thursday we practiced free throws, and I hit 49 of 50."
Assistant Coach Rob Summers thought the victory to be a defining moment in the season.
"The win was a sign of a mature team, a team that really believes in themselves," Summers said. "They really pulled together."
Dartmouth 66, Yale 49
Lonergan and Gilpin combined for the for the Big Green's first 15 points as Dartmouth pounded the Bulldogs of Yale 66-49.
"I was just feeling good because I got in my rhythm early," said Lonergan, who actually scored Dartmouth's first nine points. Gilpin followed suit with six of his own including the first of his three dunks.
"We worked hard tonight and were able to convert our early opportunities," Gilpin said following the game. Gilpin had a season high 21 points with nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Dartmouth built its early lead into a nine point advantage. Just as the first half closed Gilpin put down a driving slam to give the Big Green a 31-20 lead at the break.
"At halftime coach told us to keep doing what we know how to do," Halas said. "He told us to try and put the game away."
And they almost did. Lonergan hit three straight field goals as the Big Green extended their lead to 18. But a couple of questionable, at best inconsistent, calls put Lonergan into foul trouble. With four pings, Lonergan got an unwanted rest with just over 11 minutes to play.
"We just wanted to control the game until Sea came back," Seth Newsome '99 said. But the Bulldogs saw their opportunity and charged, making a 14-5 run that pulled them within seven with just over eight to play.
A time-out by Faucher calmed the Big Green down. Keith Stanton '97 and Gilpin reclaimed the paint.
"[In the time out] Coach told me to play as hard as I could," said Stanton who blocked three big shots and hauled in four crucial rebounds. "The tight D helped us calm down on offense."
Stanton and company kept the Bulldogs caged as their comeback bark proved to be worse than their bite. Lonergan returned with seven minutes left and Yale never got any closer. With the win, Dartmouth improved to 12-6 (5-1) and moved up to second in the Ivies.
For the second night in a row the crowd showing was pitiful, nothing in comparison to the crowds who support the Big Green at Hanover.
"This trip really made us appreciate playing at home," Gilpin said. "The home crowd really makes a big difference."
Fans get their next look at Dartmouth this weekend as they play host to Princeton and Penn during winter carnival. With the lead in the Ivy League at stake, this weekend promises to be a war.
