On Friday night, the Big Green (8-16, 6-4 Ivy) defeated the University of Pennsylvania, 69-59, for the team's first season sweep of Penn (8-15, 4-5 Ivy) in 50 years, and its first victory at the The Palestra in 12 years. Then, on Saturday, the Big Green defeated Princeton, 66-63, for the first weekend sweep of Penn and Princeton (10-12, 5-4 Ivy) by Dartmouth in 50 years.
"It is a huge step for Dartmouth basketball to be alive this late in the Ivy season, but our goals are still higher," Robby Pride '10 said. "We want to win the league, not just be happy with a top half finish."
These two wins came after a disappointing road trip for the Big Green the previous weekend that put the team's league championship hopes in major jeopardy, after Dartmouth lost to both Columbia and Cornell.
Against Penn, Alex Barnett '09 put up 20 points en route to the Big Green 10-point victory. Barnett, the Ivy League's leading scorer, was six for 13 from the field, with two three-pointers. He was a perfect six for six on the free throw line, with all of his all of foul shots coming in the final minute to seal the win for Dartmouth. Barnett also had nine rebounds, four blocks, and three assists.
Other leading scorers for Dartmouth were David Rufful '12 with 11 points and Elgin Fitzgerald '10 with 10.
In a dominating performance, the Big Green never trailed the entire game, breaking Penn's three-game winning streak. Fatigue may have finally gotten to the Quakers, who were playing their fourth game in a week.
The Big Green hit the ground running, taking an 8-2 lead on a Barnett layup at the 16:55 mark. Later, a three by Pride gave Dartmouth a 13-point lead, the biggest of the game.
The Quakers suffered a big loss when their leading scorer, sophomore Tyler Bernardini got two quick fouls early, sending him to the bench for the final 13 minutes of the first half. The Big Green took a 35-26 lead into the break.
Penn mounted a comeback in the second half, cutting the deficit to six on multiple occasions.
A late Quaker run cut Dartmouth's lead to 58-55 with 4:22 remaining in the game.
Dartmouth rallied down the stretch, however, with a three-pointer by Ruffel quickly killing the Quakers' momentum and essentially putting the game out of reach.
With the win over Penn under its belt, the Big Green traveled to Princeton to take on the Tigers.
Barnett again calmly led the team to victory, scoring a game-high 22 points, including another seven from the foul line in the final minutes of the contest.
Barnett was fouled with 48 seconds left and the Big Green trailing 61-60. He hit both free throws to give Dartmouth the lead it would hold on to until the end, for a final score of 62-61.
Both teams traded points as the game came down to the wire. Princeton guard Dan Mavraides had a chance to send the game to overtime with a three-point attempt at the buzzer, but it fell short, giving Dartmouth the 66-63 victory.
Barnett's 22 points moved him into 10th place on the Big Green all-time scorers list with 1,302 career points.
The Tigers dominated the first half, leading by as many as 13 points. However, Barnett then started connecting, scoring nine of the Big Green's last 11 first-half points to send Dartmouth into the locker room down 34-30.
Dartmouth continued cutting the deficit in the second half, and took its first lead about five minutes in. It was a back-and-forth second half, with neither team leading by more than four.
The two wins this weekend put the Big Green at 6-4 in the Ivy League, two games behind league-leading Cornell.
Under most scenarios, Dartmouth must win all of its remaing games thsi season. The Big Green will face Cornell and Columbia this weekend, followed by Yale and Brown the final weekend of the season.
"I think that a sense of urgency has been adopted by the team," Pride said. "We all understand what is riding on these games. If we lose, it's over. Our backs are against the wall, and we know it."
Dartmouth's title hopes will also depend on strong efforts from Penn and Princeton in their remaining matches against Cornell. The Big Red holds a two-game lead over Dartmouth in the Ivy League standings, and must lose two of its remaining four games to create an opening for Dartmouth to take a share of the League crown.
The Big Green returns to Dartmouth this Friday and Saturday to play Cornell and Columbia at Leede Arena. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
Sidebar: A Look Back...
Dartmouth defeated both Penn and Princeton in one weekend for the first time since Feb. 21-22, 1959, when the Indians defeated the Quakers, 73-57, and the Tigers, 71-59, to extend their 14-game winning streak.
Here's a look at some other things going on at the College in early 1959:
A plane carrying two doctors from Mary Hitchcock Medical Center crashed in the White Mountains outside Hanover.
Corporate recruiting was headlined by Convair Astronautics and General Motors' missile division.
The Dartmouth's daily crossword puzzle was sponsored by KOOL Cigarettes.
The College levied a 75-cent fine on students to pay for damages to Thayer dining hall incurred in a riot following a football team victory.
Treasurer of the College John F. Meck called the recently opened Choate Road dwellings, "...[a]n experiment based upon what on paper appeared to be the best modern living quarters..."
Men's football, hockey and basketball all won the Ivy League title.
