Dartmouth (1-3, 0-0 Ivy) lost a heartbreaking home opener to in-state rival University of New Hampshire. A put-back from UNH senior Dane DiLiegro with both the shot clock and the game clock running down gave the Wildcats a 55-53 victory over the Big Green this past Tuesday at Leede Arena.
After a stall in play and a conference between the referees, the basket was ruled good and the game clock was set to 1.5 seconds, only leaving time for a heave from half court that was no good, giving UNH (3-0, 0-0 America East) the victory.
"Watching video playback it looked to me that the shot clock went off while the ball was still in his hands," David Rufful '12 said. "It came off the rim and they scored before anyone could even react."
The Big Green dominated most of the game, leading 34-19 at halftime and expanding that lead to 17 points in the second half. Inconsistent play on the offensive end from Dartmouth led to a 14-0 run in the closing minutes of the game, allowing UNH to steal the victory.
Jabari Trotter '12 led the team in scoring with 18 points. Captain Ronnie Dixon '11, who is recovering from an injury, added 12 points off the bench, and Rufful contributed 10 points and seven rebounds for the Big Green.
Dartmouth was able to refocus and earn its first win of the season 71-57 over the University of Hartford (0-3, 0-0 America East) in Hartford, Conn., on Saturday. The win snapped a 16-game losing streak on the road for the Big Green, and gave head coach Paul Cormier his first win in his second season back at the College.
"He has made basketball a really serious sport around here and wants people to enjoy watching our games and be respected around the League," Trotter said.
Trotter led the way on the offensive end, scoring a career-high 24 points on five-of-seven shooting from long range. Sixteen of his 24 points came in the first half, giving Dartmouth a familiar 15-point halftime advantage.
"I think our offense is really predicated on spacing on the floor, and it creates a lot of gaps," Trotter said. "When the defender helps, you just have to have confidence that you can step up and knock it down."
Dartmouth was able to sustain a double-figure lead for the entire second half. R.J. Griffin '13 added 13 points, and Rufful battled for five points and 11 rebounds.
In the final game of the Big Green's weekend play, the team fell to Loyola College (2-1, 0-0 MAAC) by a score of 73-59 on the road in Baltimore on Sunday.
Although the Big Green battled to a halftime tie, stretches of inconsistent scoring in the second half allowed the Greyhounds to pull away for the win.
The size of the Greyhounds inside proved to be too much for Dartmouth. Loyola dominated Dartmouth on the boards by a margin of 41-22, 12 of which were on the offensive end. They attempted more than twice as many free throws as the Big Green, and they were able to shoot 50 percent from the floor.
Rufful led the way for Dartmouth with 17 points and five rebounds. Trotter was the only other Big Green player in double-figures with 12.
"Offensively we did some good things, and even late in the game we were only down seven," Rufful said. "There were definite bright spots, but we weren't able to put everything together."
Dartmouth will look to take its second win of the season when they take on Quinnipiac University (2-1, 0-0 NEC) on Tuesday at home.
