Once again, the Big Green came up just a little bit short. Over the past two years, the Dartmouth men's basketball team has made a name for itself for losing tough, hard-fought, dramatic heartbreaking losses (see the last four Harvard games, games against Princeton and Penn at home last season, and a game against Brown this season). Monday night's game in Burlington, Vt. was no exception.
Dartmouth trailed 38-32 at halftime against the UVM Catamounts (6-13), but staged a furious comeback with just under five minutes remaining in the game.
Trailing by 10 points, 70-60, with five minutes to go, Dartmouth's Greg Buth '01 and Mark Kissling '02 each hit three-pointers around a basket by UVM's Trevor Gaines to pull within 72-66.
The Big Green followed up a UVM inside basket by Mark Sheftic with a 10-0 run. A Buth three-pointer brought Dartmouth within one, 74-73, with 1:42 left to play.
Unfortunately, that margin would stick, as Vermont's T.J. Sorrentine hit a pair of clutch free throws with 11.2 seconds left to give UVM the narrow victory.
Dartmouth's only lead in the second half came on a Buth fast break lay-up with 1:03 left. Point guard Flinder Boyd '02 fed Buth for the lay-in after a long miss by UVM sharpshooter Tony Orciari led to a rebound and an outlet pass to Boyd on the break.
UVM would then miss on their following possession, and after a timeout call by Boyd and a UVM foul against Ian McGinnis '01 sent him to the line with 41.5 ticks to go.
Dartmouth appeared to be in good shape. However, McGinnis was only able to make the first of two free throws, and that second miss would prove critical.
UVM regrouped on its next possession. Grant Anderson hit one of two free throws with 23.8 seconds remaining, and Gaines snared the games biggest offensive rebound for the Catamounts. On the ensuing play following a timeout, Sorrentine penetrated into the lane and was fouled as he lofted a short shot.
A shot by Dartmouth's Charles Harris '02 glanced off the rim at the buzzer.
Gaines had an excellent game for UVM with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Buth led all scorers with 27 points, including 4-5 shooting from three-point range. McGinnis also had a standout performance for Dartmouth with 13 points and 15 rebounds, his sixth double-double in his last seven games (one was a triple-double). He also had six assists.
Dartmouth kept close to UVM throughout the match-up, in part, by drawing a lot of foul calls. For the game, Dartmouth shot 31 free throws to the Catamount's 17.
UVM outshot the Big Green 49 percent to a paltry 38 percent. UVM also had a balanced scoring attack with four men in double figures -- Gaines had 18, Matt Sheftic 15, Sorrentine 13 and Tony Orciari 17 -- whereas Buth and McGinnis were the only Dartmouth playing scoring in double figures.
The loss to UVM was Dartmouth's last game against a non-conference team this season. The Big Green (5-12) face perennial rivals Columbia and Cornell this upcoming weekend on the road.
