With a 78-68 victory against the Columbia Lions (8-11, 1-5 Ivy) on Saturday evening, Dartmouth men's basketball closed out a brutal five-game road trip with its first Ivy League win. The Big Green (3-16, 1-5 Ivy) delivered the much-needed triumph after falling to the Cornell Big Red (8-11, 3-2) the previous evening in Ithaca 63-47.
Of Dartmouth's first 19 games, 15 were on the road. This can be both physically and mentally taxing on any team.
"It has been tough. Last year one of our strengths was our ability to win at home," said Arnold. "We actually have more wins on the road this year than we did all of last year. Unfortunately, with so few home games we haven't been able to make a solid run."
However, Saturday evening was a different story altogether. Dartmouth managed to finally pull out its first Ivy League victory of the season against Columbia.
Dartmouth got solid contributions from guards Mike Lang '06 and Michael Giovacchini '08, who both recorded 16 points, seven assists and three rebounds. Forward Chuck Flynn '08 also scored in double digits with 11 points and five rebounds.
"I have not been playing on top of my game the past week or so," Flynn said. "Playing well on Saturday felt great to get back in the groove."
The whole team seemed to be in a groove Saturday evening. Dartmouth took a 27-25 halftime lead, but two minutes into the next frame, the game was knotted at 32. With 17:38 to go, Lang gave Dartmouth the lead for good with a three-point basket.
Down the stretch, with one minute remaining, Columbia started fouling players to stop the clock. However, the men in green converted on the charity stripe, going 8-for-10.
On Friday, Cornell got off to an early lead and never looked back. Dartmouth simply had no answer to the Big Red's Adam Gore, who led all scorers with 20 points. This outstanding diaper dandy has been named Ivy League Freshman of the Week an impressive five times.
Dartmouth's starting five struggled to contribute, combining for a mere 16 points throughout the game. The Big Green, as a whole, shot 34 percent from the field compared to Cornell's 42 percent.
Forward Calvin Arnold '06 came off the bench to lead all Dartmouth scorers with 11 points and eight boards.
"I played aggressive on Friday night's game, looked for my shot and my teammates did a great job of finding me," said Arnold. "I thought the team needed that. After the first half, when we really struggled, we played a solid half of basketball."
Cornell built a 38-23 halftime lead, which proved too large for Dartmouth to overcome. Forward Jason Meyer '07 also contributed for the Big Green, knocking in nine points.
Looking forward to next week and a little reprieve from the road, Arnold said, "We hope that we can bring the same type of energy we did this weekend and hopefully use the home court advantage to get some W's. It's great playing at home and even though we have been struggling the fans are amazing, and we hope that they keep supporting us."
This Winter Carnival weekend, Dartmouth will face perennial powerhouses Penn and Princeton at Leede Arena, kicking off a four-game homestand.
