The Dartmouth men's basketball team entered the month of December with an even 3-3 record but had achieved a winning record by the middle of the month. However, they have slipped in their last three games of 2007, finishing the year with a losing record. And the team's fortunes have not improved, as the team dropped an away contest to Harvard.
In early December, the Big Green (5-8, 0-1 Ivy) showed an improved level of intensity in holding off the University of California, Davis, 70-67, and then handling Division-III Daniel Webster, 88-52, to achieve a season best 5-4 record.
The team could not maintain its level of play after final exams. Dartmouth suffered a heartbreaker to Army, 59-56, sandwiched between losses to Quinnipiac, 85-63, and Siena, 89-54.
Against UC Davis, the Big Green improved upon its previous shooting and rebounding woes, shooting a season high 56.9 percent from the field and out-rebounding the Aggies 33-20.
Head coach Terry Dunn was pleased with the strong showing the Big Green brought to the floor.
"Rebounding, better shooting, shot selection, sharing the ball and having a higher level of intensity and energy level were important tonight," Dunn said.
Alex Barnett '09 paced the team with 12 points, seven boards, and four assists. DeVon Mosley '09 and Johnathan Ball '08 chipped in 13 points each to help the cause. The Dartmouth bench also played a key role in the game, outscoring the Aggie bench 23-13.
The first half was a back and forth period, with Dartmouth taking a slim 32-30 lead at the half. A 10-0 run in the second half gave the Big Green a 47-37 lead midway through the period, its largest of the night.
The Aggies came roaring back however, twice pulling to within one point in the final minutes. The Big Green countered by nailing its final six field goals and just squeezed out a victory when the Aggies missed the potential game tying three-ball at the buzzer.
"We battled throughout the game and won a tight one," Mosley said.
After an 11 day break, the Big Green faced Daniel Webster and dominated the game, winning almost all statistical categories. The success gave Dartmouth a winning record for the first time this season and its best start since the 2001-2002 campaign.
The team avoided turnovers and did a stand-out job of sharing the ball, leading to a season high 26 assists. Barnett had a career-high six assists, while Ball, Mosley, and Marlon Sanders '09 each assisted four baskets. Mosley led all scorers with 18 points and Ball grabbed 10 rebounds. Adam Powers '09 had 12 points off the bench in only 11 minutes.
Dartmouth never trailed, and the Big Green shot above 50 percent in both halves, including a season best 8-16 from behind the arc.
"Coming off an 11-day layoff, you don't know what to expect," said Dunn. "You just want guys to come out, play hard, defend well, execute and play with enthusiasm, and I thought for the most part we did that tonight."
Things quickly started going downhill after the two home wins. Dartmouth began the rough four-game road swing with a poor performance against Quinnipiac. The Big Green struggled from the get-go, shooting only 38 percent while allowing the Bobcats to shoot 65 percent from the field.
Barnett netted a team high 17 points, but did not receive much help as Dartmouth slipped to 5-5 on the season.
Quinnipiac opened with a 22-7 lead early and went into the half with a comfortable 43-25 cushion. The Bobcats built the lead through a harassing defense, forcing seven Dartmouth turnovers in the first half and allowing Dartmouth to shoot just 26.5 percent.
In the second half, the Big Green did not give up and attacked the lead with a few mini-runs, but it was not meant to be for Dartmouth, and they never seriously threatened the Bobcats afterwards.
"We lacked strong defense and were unable to stop the other team's three-point shooting, preventing us from coming back," Mosley said.
The struggles continued in the following contest with Army. Both teams were given chances to take over the game at various stages, but the Black Knights came up to grab the win in the final two minutes.
Despite a game-high 20 points from Barnett and 13 points off the bench from Ball, the Big Green couldn't connect when it counted the most. After shooting 45.5 percent in the first half, the Big Green barely topped 30 percent in the second quarter.
It was a tight contest and neither team ever led by more than six points. Just when it looked like one team could gain control, the other would storm back and close the gap. In a half filled with swings of momentum, Dartmouth went into the locker room trailing 34-33 at halftime.
Dartmouth opened the second half without a basket for the first 5:45, but the Big Green went on a 14-3 run to gain its biggest lead of the game, 45-41, with 10:05 remaining in the game. The Big Green led 54-49 with just under six minutes left in the game, but Army scored the next nine points to take a four point lead with 38 seconds remaining that it would not relinquish. Dartmouth missed a desperation three pointer at the buzzer.
The outlook did not improve for Dartmouth against Siena. The Saints scored the first 10 points and raced to an 18-2 lead.
The Big Green came out cold from the field, missing its first five shots and not getting on the board until the 14:30 mark. Dartmouth got within 25-14 after chipping away at the lead, but a 13-2 run by Siena broke open the game.
The Saints shot 56 percent from the field in the first half and carried a 45-26 lead to the locker room. Siena led by more than 20 points or more for the final 16:38 of the game.
Dartmouth only shot 39 percent and only made one three-pointer in 13 attempts. The Big Green also had three more turnovers than assists.
"Things just didn't go well for us," Mosley said. "We lacked good defense much of the game and didn't shoot the ball well at all."
Barnett had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Ball also added 15 points to lead the team.
The Big Green will return home to face Harvard on Friday, Jan. 11 after four straight on the road and will look to avenge an 82-56 loss last Saturday against the Crimson. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
