Dartmouth is now on a seven-game losing streak, with the loss to the Bulldogs (10-15, 4-4 Ivy) marking its 10 consecutive defeat in Ivy League play, dating back to last season. In addition, the Big Green has yet to win on the road this season.
The team's last road victory came almost one year ago against Princeton University on Feb. 21, 2009. Now that Dartmouth has already faced all of its Ivy foes at least once this season, time is running out for the Big Green to put up a win in conference play.
In the loss to Yale, Dartmouth proved capable of hanging with its opponents for long stretches particularly in the first half but also showed that it still struggles to finish games.
"Whenever you start off the game you feel so focused," forward David Rufful '12 said. "We've got to keep pushing the game and be aggressive."
Behind the hot shooting of Rufful, Ronnie Dixon '11 and captain Robby Pride '10, Dartmouth built a 37-29 halftime lead. The trio combined to shoot 11-16 from the field in the first half.
Despite attempting a season-high 65 shots during the game, Dartmouth shot a paltry 6-32 from the field in the second period and was outscored in the half, 40-19.
Even with the poor shooting performance, the Big Green held a 49-48 lead with as little as 5:46 left to play. Yale finished strong, ending with a dominating 21-7 run to seal the victory.
"When other teams turn it up, we're going to have to turn it up also," Dixon said. "We're not always going to be able to shoot the ball well. We're going to have to rely on our defense to keep those games within reach and not let them slip away from us."
Second-half point production has consistently plagued the Big Green this season.
Rufful added that it was difficult to overcome Yale's home-court advantage.
"I think it's difficult anytime you go into anyone else's gym," Rufful said. "Second half, we had a good lead and we gave it away. We just have to focus more."
Rufful and Dixon led the team in scoring, with 15 points apiece, while Pride added 11. Forward Clive Weeden '11 also hauled in 13 rebounds, a season-high for any Dartmouth player. Bulldogs forward Mike Sands led all scorers with 20 points and also grabbed eight rebounds.
Against Brown (8-17, 2-6 Ivy), Dartmouth broke 60 points for just the fifth time this season but sent the Bears to the free-throw line 37 times. Brown took advantage, making 33 for an 89.2 free-throw percentage.
"[The free throws] made a big difference," Dixon said. "They weren't missing any, so that was basically giving them two points [each time]."
Junior guard Peter Sullivan led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior center Matt Mullery also recorded a double-double, scoring 17 points while adding 10 rebounds.
Center Matt LaBove '13 was the only Big Green scorer to reach double digits, with 12 points. Weeden was just shy of a double-double, adding nine points and nine rebounds.
Dartmouth opened the game on a 6-0 run, but Brown held a 39-29 lead going into halftime. The Big Green used an 8-0 run early in the second half to cut the Brown lead to 41-37 with 15:10 to play.
The two teams traded baskets for about nine minutes, with Brown leading 55-51 with 6:15 remaining on the clock. Mullery and Sullivan then combined for the Bears' next 13 points.
Brown finished Dartmouth off with a 14-5 run over the final 3:48, hitting 12 of 14 free throws. Dartmouth held an uncharacteristically large 32-18 advantage in the paint against Brown. Dartmouth also led in bench scoring, 23-8, but trailed, 38-33, in rebounds.
The Big Green will return home next weekend to begin a four-game homestand, hosting Columbia University on Friday and Cornell University on Saturday. The Big Red currently ranked No.22 in the ESPN/USA Today poll looks to rebound from a shocking upset loss to the University of Pennsylvania this weekend.
"Now four teams have to come to Dartmouth," Rufful said. "That's where we're most comfortable. Hopefully we can be aggressive and come out with some wins."
All four of the Big Green's wins this season have occurred at home.
Both games next weekend will tip off at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.
