Barnett's performance led the Big Green (3-13, 1-1 Ivy) to its first win in over a calendar month. The win ended a nine-game losing streak and evened the Big Green's Ivy League record to 1-1. It was the first game Dartmouth has won at Harvard in over nine years.
"It felt unbelievable," Robbie Pride '10 said. "We've been trying to win this game for a long time now, and to do it on their gym was great."
Dartmouth was the stronger side for most of the game, but was punished for not putting Harvard away as junior guard Jeremy Lin's scoop shot tied the score at 62 with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.
Lin tallied 21 points for the Crimson before fouling out in overtime.
In the extra period, however, Barnett took over, scoring six of Dartmouth's 13 points en route to a comfortable win. The senior also grabbed a rebound and a steal in overtime.
"[Barnett] is a great player and a great scorer," Clive Weeden '11 said. "He's also a great passer too. Having him on the court makes a huge difference and definitely gives us an advantage."
Dartmouth played consistently on the defensive end, causing 17 turnovers and allowing only eight second-chance points. The Big Green scored 19 points off of turnovers, including 10 off of fast breaks.
The Big Green did well shutting down Lin, the Ivy League's second leading scorer, limiting him to seven for fourteen shooting from the field and causing the guard to cough up the ball three times. Dartmouth also prevented Lin from getting comfortable behind the arc, allowing him only two long-range looks the entire game.
"We've been working on him all week," Pride said. "We knew that he's their main option and basically everything they have, so we had two, three bodies on him at all times, and tried to make other players beat us."
Harvard came out the stronger side, jumping ahead 11-4. Dartmouth followed with a 12-0 run, with Barnett scoring eight during the span.
The game went back and forth the rest of the half, with the score 34-30 in Dartmouth's favor at the break.
"We came out strong and played well," Weeden said. "We came out with energy and played as a team. We had assisted scoring and everybody was rebounding. Also, we only gave up two turnovers, which is incredible."
Dartmouth continued to lead throughout the second half until Lin put Harvard ahead 55-54 with five minutes left, shooting his only three-pointer of the game.
The Big Green regained the lead courtesy of six straight points by Barnett, before a three from Harvard senior Andrew Pusar put the Crimson within two. After a missed free throw by Kirk Crecco '12, Pusar tried to win the game for Harvard with another shot for three with six seconds remaining, but Pride came up with the block.The ball, however, fell right into the hands of Lin, who connected on his clutch lay-up.
"Everybody in the gym knew [Lin] was going to shoot the ball," Pride said. "But he dished it to Pusar, but I got up higher than I've ever gotten before and blocked him. Unfortunately, he got the ball and made a contested shot."
In overtime, Dartmouth outplayed Harvard, limiting the Crimson to one for seven shooting from the field.
The Big Green shot 44 percent from the field in the game, including a dismal three for 13 from behind the arc, but was able to hit shots when it mattered, shooting 80 percent in overtime.
Harvard had similar shooting statistics to Dartmouth on the game, but missed nearly every shot in overtime, and made only 63 percent of shots from the free-throw line throughout the game
The Crimson also missed every three-point shot it attempted in overtime.
"We put fresh bodies in there at all times," Pride said. "We had like eight or nine people with a lot of minutes. In the end, they didn't have the depth that we did."
Dartmouth was very aggressive on the offensive end, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points.
Harvard did win the rebounding contest, snagging 41 total boards to Dartmouth's 35. It was the only statistical category in which the Crimson led the Big Green by a wide margin.
The win was one of the most important Dartmouth has earned in the past two seasons, and greatly improves Dartmouth's chances in Ivy League play.
The Crimson snuck out of Leede Arena with a narrow 63-62 win two weeks ago, and the Big Green were determined not to let its rival escape a second time.
"Our thing is to always move on after a loss, but that last one against them really stuck with us," Weeden said. "We definitely had revenge on our minds, especially after they beat us on our home court."
Harvard has already beaten nationally-ranked Boston College this season, and is widely considered capable of challenging Cornell for the Ivy League title.
The win puts the Big Green back on track in its plan to contend in a strong Ivy League this season.
"Our goal all season has been to win the Ivy League," Weeden said. "This win gives us a lot of confidence and lets everyone know that we can beat the best teams in the league."
The Big Green looks to improve its Ivy League record this Friday at Leede Arena against conference foe Princeton.
The following day, the Big Green hosts the University of Pennsylvania. Both games tip off at 7:00 p.m.
