In a nearly silent Leede Arena, Dartmouth hosted the 7-8 Red Raiders of Colgate. The Big Green hoped to close out their homestand with a victory after three straight nailbiting defeats.
Dartmouth opened the night with one of their best halves of basketball all year. The home team led by as many as 20, as they forced 14 Colgate turnovers.
Ball control had been one of the sticking points in the Big Green's recent losses, and their attention to it paid off in a stretch of 14:28 in which they did not committ a single turnover. They committed five in the half, well below their 19.5 turnover per game average this past weekend.
Dartmouth jumped out on top early, gaining a 24-5 at the 10-minute mark on an Ian McGinnis'01 put back. Dartmouth made only three more field goals in the half, yet finished up shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and holding a 38-20 lead.
The Big Green also did an effective job shutting down the Red Raiders with a tight man-to-man defense, as the visitors were held to a ghastly 17.4 percent from the floor. Leading scorer Pat Campolieta was held scoreless in 15 minutes of play, as McGinnis did a tremendous job of playing position defense and not allowing Campolieta a clean look at the basket.
"I felt that I was really in his head in the first half," said McGinnis.
Pacing Dartmouth were Greg Buth '01 and Mark Kissling '02 each with eight points, and McGinnis with six points, five assists, and four rebounds. Reserve guard Mark Linebaugh led the way for Colgate with eight on a 6-7 performance from the charity stripe.
"It was a perfect first half, both offensively and defensively," said Coach Dave Faucher.
As the second half began, the Big Green looked sluggish while Colgate came out fired up. Colgate opened the half with an 8-2 run, closing the gap to 12.
Colgate suddenly stopped turning the ball over, committing only five in the second half, and none over the final 13:13. Dartmouth, on the other hand, got a little sloppy, giving the ball away 12 times, seven times in the first eight minutes.
To make matters worse McGinnis went to the bench at the 16:08 mark after picking up his fourth foul. Dartmouth responded, however, with a quick spurt, only to have Colgate come back again and cut the lead to 10 with 10:45 to play.
At this point McGinnis returned only to have the Red Raiders go straight at him. As fans began to wonder if Colgate could repeat Yale's comeback from Saturday night, Buth drilled an off-balance fall-away three pointer.
After a Campolieta drive, seldom-used Greg Friel drilled a long-distance trey extending Dartmouth's advantage to 15 with 8:35 to play. Colgate answered right back with another 8-2 spurt.
With 6:19 to play and Colgate surging, forward Howard Blue stole a Buth pass to McGinnis and broke away with McGinnis on his tail. Fearing the worst, a three-point play and McGinnis fouled out, the crowd was treated to a botched lay-up, and Dartmouth in possession.
On the ensuing possession Flinder Boyd '02 was left all alone inside, and his lay-up put the Big Green up for double digits to stay. After a few ugly possessions back and forth, Buth dove for a loose ball on defense, and went sliding head first into the concrete below the wall padding.
Buth was helped to the sideline with blood streaming down his face from a cut over his right eye. He would return only to be sent off again as the bleeding continued. After the game he was taken to the hospital for stitches.
Having not previously visited the free throw line in the second half, the Big Green shot 15-18 over the last 2:37 to seal the deal with an 84-68 victory. Dartmouth ended the game with a 55.1 percent shooting percentage which included a phenomenal 73.7 percent effort in the second half.
Buth led the team in scoring for the first time in four games with 23 points. Blue led the Red Raiders with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The unquestionable hero of the game had to be McGinnis, who in addition to shutting down Campolieta in the first half, completed his first career triple-double with 10 points, 10 boards and 10 assists. McGinnis and his teammates were all smiles after their first win in six games.
"We were just so happy to win," said McGinnis.
"This is why we all play the game," he added.
The Big Green now have a 3-11 record, 0-4 in Ivy League play as they approach a home-and-home series with Albany. Colgate falls to 7-9, 1-3 against Ivy League opponents.
