If you went to Leede Arena last night to watch the Dartmouth-Harvard men's basketball game, you were probably expecting another blowout like the one Harvard handed to the Big Green a month ago. Then again, that's why they play the games.
The Big Green shocked everyone except themselves last night when they earned their first Ivy League victory of the year defeating the Crimson 57-53.
Dartmouth (3-9, 1-1 Ivy) came out inspired and everyone in the arena knew that it was going to be a war from the opening tip-off.
Senior co-Captain P. J. Halas '98 knocked down the first three treys he attempted in the first half giving the Big Green a 26-19 lead with just under four minutes remaining.
The Big Green went to the break with a 31-19 primarily because of its suffocating defense. They limited the Crimson (7-5, 1-1 Ivy) to just 7 of 26 shooting in the opening half, a measly 26.9% from the field. Their set offense simply had no success in finding any sort of a rhythm in the first half.
The Big Green defense held All-Ivy Harvard guard Tim Hill and their second leading scorer, Mike Scott, to a combined two points and no field goals.
When the second stanza began, a different Harvard team emerged from the visitors' locker room. Scott came out like the mad bomber in the second half, scoring eight points in three minutes cutting the Dartmouth lead to two.
The Big Green called time-out and it looked as though this article might have started by saying how there are 40 and not 20 minutes in a basketball game.
But, this was a different Big Green squad than the one who dropped all six of their games in the month of December.
Leading 37-33, forward Chris Ellis '00 poked the ball loose from a Crimson player, dove on the floor to recover it and then managed to throw a pass from behind his back while sitting on the floor to Greg Buth '01. Buth started the fast break which eventually led to a pair of Big Green free throws. More importantly, the play ignited the crowd of 1,200 and the Big Green squad as well.
Dartmouth went to their bread and butter--solid team defense. They allowed one field goal in the ensuing four minutes, building a 51-43 lead.
The second half hero for Dartmouth was forward Ian McGinnis '01 who pulled down four crucial offensive rebounds in the second half.
Harvard was led back by the play of Hill, who at 5'11", doesn't look like much but is about as fast a player as Dartmouth has seen anywhere.
But, when McGinnis grabbed one of his offensive boards, was fouled, and made both shots from the charity stripe it was only a matter of time.
The game wasn't as close as the score indicates because Harvard forward banked in a 40-footer as time expired.
When the scoreboard finally read all zeroes, Head Coach Dave Faucher wore a smile about six feet wide. He was screaming in jubilation with Halas and his high scorer for the evening with 20 points, Shaun Gee '00, as all of their adjustments and practice had finally paid off.
Faucher and his players had obviously exacted their revenge and had gained back some respect from the Crimson and the rest of the league.
The magnitude of this victory for Dartmouth cannot begin to be explained. While they are still 3-9 on the season, this victory should do wonders for this team's confidence as they enter the rest of their conference schedule even at 1-1 with the Crimson.
They are a long way from .500 and an even longer way from a league title. While this may only be one step, it made a footprint the size of Shaquille O'Neal's shoes and it is one that the Big Green should savor.
Judging from Faucher's face, they probably will.
