The Dartmouth men's basketball team lost its season opener to the United States Military Academy, 63-48, on Saturday in West Point, N.Y. It was the fourth straight opening-day loss for the Big Green.
Army led the game wire to wire and by as many as 21 points, allowing Dartmouth to tie the score only once. Nathan Hedgecock led the Black Knights with 15 points, while forward Alex Barnett '09 scored a game-leading 18 for the Big Green.
The Big Green shot under 40 percent from the field throughout the game and allowed 17 offensive rebounds, folding to an Army team that it lost to by just three points last season.
Army came out in good form, rolling to a 7-0 lead. Despite some resistance by the Big Green, the Black Knights shot well throughout the entire first half, hitting 41 percent from the field in the frame. Army also hit 5 of 9 from behind the arc to help them lead at the break, 35-25.
Dartmouth shot 40 percent from the field in the first half but was only 1 of 7 from 3-point range. The Big Green committed 12 turnovers, leading to 15 Black Knight points. Dartmouth also conceded five offensive rebounds, allowing Army to score five second-chance points in the opening half.
The game effectively slipped away from the Big Green starting at 12:44 in the first half, after starting guard Jabari Trotter '12 hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 11-11. For the next five minutes after that play, Dartmouth did not score, allowing Army to stroll to a 17-11 lead. The Big Green did manage to pull within a bucket with two free throws and a jumper by Barnett. Army then scored the next eight points, however, to balloon its lead to 10, forcing Dartmouth to take a 30-second timeout with 4:59 left in the first half.
The Black Knights started the second frame in similar fashion to the first, scoring the first eight points. Army did not shoot as well as it did in the first half, only hitting 34 percent from the field. The Black Knights took 32 shots against the Big Green defense, however, leading to 28 points.
Dartmouth shot just as poorly as Army from the field, hitting a third of its shots and just 3 of 10 from behind the arc. The Big Green also gave up 12 offensive rebounds, leading to seven second-chance points for Army.
Army finished the contest ahead of Dartmouth in nearly every statistical category. The Black Knights out-scored Dartmouth 30-16 in the paint and had 24 points off the bench, compared to Dartmouth's 14. Army also forced 21 turnovers while committing only 14.
The Black Knights had a balanced attack. Twelve of 14 players scored for Army, while only five of 12 players scored for Dartmouth.
A bright spot for the Big Green was Trotter, who scored 15 points in his collegiate debut. Trotter shot 5 of 11 from the field, including nine points from behind the arc.
Outside of Trotter, however, Barnett and Elgin Fitzgerald '10, who scored 11 points off the bench, only two Big Green players scored -- Marlon Sanders '09 with one point and Brandon Ware '10 with three. Leading a more balanced attack is no doubt one of the things coach Terry Dunn will address before the Big Green's next contest this Tuesday against the University of Providence.
Every Ivy League team except Harvard has started its season with mixed results. On Friday, Cornell knocked off the University of South Dakota, 79-69, and Columbia defeated cross-city rival Fordham University, 65-62, as the two New York Ivies were the only ones to get wins. Brown dropped a close match to in-state rival the University of Rhode Island, 76-74, Princeton fell to Central Michigan University, 55-53, and Yale hosted Stanford University, losing 75-67.
On Saturday, while Dartmouth was losing to Army, the University of Pennsylvania took on No. 1 University of North Carolina. The Tar Heels dominated the Quakers, beating them by the final score of 86-71. UNC was up by 15 at halftime and maintained that lead throughout the second half.
In Sunday action, Columbia played against traditional Big East contender and NCAA Tournament regular Seton Hall University, losing 71-50 despite the Pirates shooting only 37.3 percent from the field.
Dartmouth travels to Providence, R.I., on Tuesday to take on Big East member University of Providence at 7 p.m. The Big Green will then play Colgate University on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena in its first home game of the year.
