The Big Green's recent momentum has shown the rest of the Ancient Eight that this is a new Dartmouth basketball program. Dartmouth's overwhelming offensive and defensive effort Wednesday demonstrated just this team could accomplish in the Ancient Eight: an Ivy League championship and Dartmouth's first NCAA tournament bid since 1959.
Mounting expectations for this Big Green squad translated to focus in the team's contest against UMES. Dartmouth started strong with three straight buckets from Marlon Sanders '09, John Marciano '11 and DeVon Mosley '09, putting the Big Green ahead early at 6-0.
Dartmouth maintained their early lead throughout the game. In fact, the margin grew over the course of the contest -- from 12 at the half, to 18 in the second after a Mosley three pointer, finally reaching a game-high at 26 points in the final minute of play on a three by Robby Pride '10.
Pride registered a career-high 11 points.
The Big Green offense was crisp throughout the contest. Despite UMES's game plan of slowing down Alex Barnett '09 and Mosley, the two combined to shoot 15-for-23 from the field, with a game-high 21 points for Barnett and 16 for Mosley.
Dartmouth's intensity extended to both ends of the court. Starters Sanders, Barnett, Mosley, and co-captain Johnathan Ball '08 wrecked havoc on defense, combining for 12 steals and three blocks between the four of them. The entire UMES squad racked just seven steals and two blocks.
The Big Green out-worked the Hawks for nearly every loose ball, hitting the floor several times.
The defensive pressure by Dartmouth led to several easy points in transition. Big Green layups, short jumpers, and dunks off of UMES turnovers kept extending Dartmouth's lead over the Hawks, preventing UMES's offense from gathering rhythm or continuity.
Dartmouth was also successful in defending Ed Tyson, the Hawks leading scorer. Tyson, who has been averaging 18.4 points per game and was coming off a 34-point performance last week, was not a factor for most of the game.
"Our game plan was to make him take contested shots," Ball, who had another solid game with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, said. "We knew that he was going to shoot and we probably wouldn't stop that, but to make sure he had a hand in his face on every shot attempt was key."
The defensive pressure limited Tyson to 0-for-6 shooting in the first half and just nine points in the second half. Whenever Tyson had a step on a Dartmouth defender, the Big Green's help defense would immediately shift, resulting in a Barnett block in one instance.
The home crowd in Leede Arena also played a role in the Dartmouth victory. The crowd fed off the intensity of the Big Green squad, growing louder and more raucous as the game progressed. On several occasions in the second half, the crowd even managed to get into the head of a frustrated Tyson. When taking shots from the line, Tyson would respond to the Dartmouth crowd's jeers with shakes of his head and an occassional verbal responses.
"It is wonderful to have that energy coming from the stands," Ball said. "I can say now that our crowd can have the potential to be a sixth man for us on the floor. As a player, I feed off the energy that the crowd gives. We appreciate their support, and in return we leave our hearts on the floor."
Coach Terry Dunn also emphasized the effect of the crowd. "I would like to personally thank our student body and fans for turning out," Dunn said. "That plays a big role in our success here at home. It helps us establish the type of atmosphere we need to have heading into the Ivy League."
The Big Green has demonstrated its potential for this season, and expectations are understandably high. Now, Dartmouth looks to continue its momentum on the road in the Ivy League.
"We definitely feel that we can win on the road," Ball said. "The key is really focusing on the little things. Road games are hard to win, so the little things and the stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet is what we must really focus on."
Dunn reiterated, "The little things are going to come into play. We have to go in with the mental toughness and the right frame of mind," he said.
Dartmouth begins the brunt of Ivy League play with four straight road games, starting at Princeton on Friday, Feb. 1.
