On Friday night against Princeton, Dartmouth trailed for only 58 seconds in the 40-minute contest. Unfortunately, however, most of those crucial 58 seconds came at the end.
The Tigers' Edwin Buffmire was fouled on a two-point field goal and made the subsequent free throws, putting the Tigers up 59-57. Princeton extended its lead to four, but Mike Lang '06 quickly responded with a crowd-silencing NBA-range three.
With just five seconds left to play, the Big Green fouled Princeton to stop the clock. Two made Tiger free throws brought the score to 63-60 and gave Dartmouth less than four seconds to respond.
With the game in his hands, Jonathan Ball '08 launched a three to push the game into overtime but fell short.
"I got fouled on the shot," Ball said. "But the refs felt differently. It is hard for them to make that call."
Throughout the game, any Princeton run was immediately countered by the Dartmouth offense. The Big Green managed to shoot 53.3 percent from the field. Lang paced all Dartmouth scorers with 12 points.
The real difference maker Friday evening was at the charity stripe. Dartmouth's 8-15 performance proved costly, especially when the Tigers shot 19-21 from the line.
On Saturday evening, Dartmouth's dearth of scoring allowed Penn to pull away early. Basketless in the first 8:45, the Big Green trailed by 11 until Jason Meyer '06 drained a three to make the score 13-5.
Dan Biber '09 scored eight of his fourteen points in the first half, keeping the game competitive. At intermission, Dartmouth trailed 30-23.
"I felt like I should have had a few more actually," Biber commented. "I missed some shots I should have definitely made. Hopefully, I can get that straight for the last weekend and send the seniors out with a win."
Early in the second half, Lang went to the line after getting fouled on a three pointer, completing a four point play and bringing Dartmouth to within three, 32-29.
However, that's as close as the Green would get. After taking Dartmouth's best punch, the tourney-bound Penn team pulled away, ultimately winning 68-52.
The Quaker's Mark Zoller put up a double-double, 17 and 11, as Dartmouth struggled to produce points of its own. The team shot 37.9 percent from the field and was outdone by Penn's 51 percent effort.
"Penn is a talented and well coached team," Ball said. "I feel that they are the best we have faced in our conference, though I think we have the capabilities of beating them."
With just two games remaining this year, Dartmouth brings the action back home to Leede Arena. Next week, the Big Green will face Columbia and Cornell to try to close the season on the right note.
"We'll work hard in practice, get our scouting reports and prepare as best we can for Cornell and Columbia," said Biber, looking forward to next week. "I hope we can get two wins to send Lang and Cal [Arnold '06] out."
Nothing would be more enjoyable for the Big Green seniors than finishing their final season with two wins.
