Dartmouth is now the only team in the Ivy League without a conference victory.
In the loss to the Lions on Saturday, Columbia shot 48.6 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from three-point range. In comparison, Dartmouth shot just 36.5 percent from the field and only 22.7 percent from deep.
The play of Lions sophomore Noruwa Agho was outstanding the guard poured in 25 points on 8-12 shooting, including four three-pointers. Agho entered the weekend ranked fourth in the Ivy League in scoring, at 16.8 points per game.
"He couldn't miss," captain Robby Pride '10 said.
Dartmouth dressed just nine players against Columbia due to player injuries and suspension. R.J. Griffin '13 and Matt LaBove '13, who have both seen significant minutes as freshmen, missed out on the game.
Griffin broke a bone in his hand, but should be back in action by the end of the week. LaBove, who played against Cornell, came down with the flu following Friday's game and did not suit up on Saturday.
Josef Brown '13 has also been sidelined for most of the season due to injury, while Marlon Sanders '09 has been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules.
The Big Green kept the score close early against Columbia and the two teams were tied at 25-25 at halftime. The Lions came out strong in the second half, however, using a 25-10 run to take a commanding 50-35 lead with 5:55 remaining.
Columbia's effectiveness in the second half may have resulted from a switch to zone defense, which Dartmouth struggled to penetrate.
Dartmouth fought back and a Pride three-pointer cut the Columbia lead to five with little over a minute to play.
Pride scored a game-high 13 points for the Big Green on 5-13 shooting.
There were no last-minute heroics for Dartmouth, however, as the Lions sank all eight free throws they attempted in the final minute to close out the victory.
On Friday, the Big Red shut down the Big Green by holding the team to a season-low 37 points. It was Dartmouth's lowest output since a 53-33 loss to Brown University in February 2007.
Junior guard Max Groebe led two-time defending Ivy champ Cornell with 15 points off the bench. Senior forward Ryan Wittman, a potential conference player-of-the-year, posted an additional 12 points for the Big Red. Wittman entered the game ranked second in the Ancient Eight in scoring, with 18.2 points per game.
The game was never close, and by halftime, Cornell led 27-13. The Big Red opened the second half on a 20-4 run and never relented, extending the final margin of defeat to 34 points.
As a result of Cornell's stifling defense, the Big Green shot just 16-58 from the floor. Dartmouth connected on just 1-11 shots from beyond the arc.
Still undefeated in Ivy play, the Big Red defeated Harvard's squad by a convincing score of 86-50 on Saturday following the win against Dartmouth.
Pride acknowledged Cornell's talented players, saying that the Big Red is a "phenomenal" team, but added that the Big Green did not play particularly well in the loss.
"We just got away from our game plan," Pride said. "They killed us early."
With key players sitting out, Herve Metsam '12 stepped up from the bench this weekend to fill in, pulling down six rebounds against the Big Red and five against the Lions.
The forward also posted a career-high nine points in Saturday's game.
In order to have a chance to finish in the top half of the league standings, Dartmouth needs to end this four-game Ivy losing streak. The Big Green still sits alone at the bottom of the Ancient Eight.
The Big Green returns home this weekend to host the University of Pennsylvania on Friday and Princeton University on Saturday.
Dartmouth defeated Penn in both of their meetings in the 2008-2009 season, but much of the offensive output was generated by Alex Barnett '09, who scored at least 20 points in both games.
To replicate the wins this year, the Big Green will need a balanced and strong offensive effort.
The first game against the Quakers last year was a turning point for Dartmouth, as it broke a 23-game losing streak to Penn.
The Big Green split two close games against Princeton last season, with both ending with margins of five points or less.
In the loss to the Tigers, Dartmouth put up a valiant final effort scoring six points in the last 30 seconds but could not overcome the deficit.
With the potential return of both Griffin and LaBove this weekend, the Big Green will have a rejuvenated lineup to take on its Ivy rivals. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.
