R.J. Griffin '13 led all scorers with 20 points, but his effort was not enough to offset Harvard's balanced scoring attack. Four Crimson starters tallied 12 points or more.
"We're getting better as a team," guard Jabari Trotter '12 said. "A lot of different guys are stepping up and that's good. You always want to get the win, but we have to take what we can from it and take that into next weekend."
The Crimson came out of the gate quickly, connecting on its first four shots to take a 9-2 lead. After trailing 15-8 midway through the first half, however, the Big Green took control and finished on a 24-10 run to take a 32-26 lead into halftime.
Dartmouth began the run by hitting three three-pointers in a row, as Griffin connected on back-to-back shots before assisting on a trey by Gediminas Bertasius '14 to give the Big Green a two-point lead.
Dartmouth continued to press after the break, scoring eight of the first 10 points in the second half to extend its lead to 12 points. The game went downhill from there for the Big Green, however, as the Crimson mounted a furious comeback. Harvard created a 23-2 run to go up by nine points with just under three minutes remaining.
The run was marked by a three-minute stretch midway through the half in which the Big Green was unable to get a shot off and turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions.
"We came out in the second half and we were hitting shots and defending well but they picked their energy up," captain Clive Weeden '11 said. "They came out with a zone [defense], and we weren't able to adjust. They hit a couple of shots, and their crowd got into it. We were never really able to stop their momentum."
The changed defensive scheme appeared to disrupt the Dartmouth men, who shot 48 percent from the field in the first half but just 23 percent in the second half.
Junior forward Keith Wright and junior guard Oliver McNally combined to hit three free throws in the final minutes, closing out the victory for the Crimson.
Harvard currently sits in a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League with a 2-0 conference record. A popular pick to win its first League title this season, Harvard has so far met expectations despite the graduation of guard Jeremy Lin, who now plays for the NBA's Golden State Warriors.
Griffin was the lone Big Green player to score in double-digits, and his 20 points were the most for a Dartmouth basketball player since captain Ronnie Dixon '11 dropped 21 points against the United States Military Academy on Dec. 11, 2010.
Griffin enjoyed one of the better shooting nights of his young career, hitting on seven of nine field goal attempts and converting on four of six three-point attempts.
"He's been working hard, getting in the gym, getting extra shots up, and it's really paying off," Trotter said.
Griffin is averaging 9.1 points per game this year, more than double his output from last season.
"He's becoming a lot more aggressive offensively, and that's what we need him to do," Weeden added. "He played extremely well today and shot phenomenally."
Forward David Rufful '12 was the team's second-leading scorer with nine points, but no other Big Green player scored more than six. Two Dartmouth starters, Weeden and guard Kirk Crecco '12, were scoreless.
"What we need to do is get a more consistent performance out of everyone," Trotter said. "We need to step up in scoring a little bit."
The Big Green stuck with the Crimson much closer than in the teams' last meeting, a 68-53 Harvard win in Hanover on Jan. 8. Dartmouth centers Weeden and Matt LaBove '13 superbly defended Wright, who entered the game fifth in the Ivy League in scoring and second in rebounding.
Harvard compensated with contributions from other sources, however. Freshman guard Laurent Rivard delivered a team-high 13 points, while McNally and sophomore guard Brandyn Curry both scored 12 points and combined to shoot 14-16 from the free-throw line.
The game marked head coach Paul Cormier's 100th League game as Dartmouth head coach, a stretch in which he has compiled a 47-53 record. The defeat was Dartmouth's tenth consecutive road loss in Ivy League play, a streak that dates back to February 2009.
The Big Green will return to action Friday night as it prepares to host three-time defending League champion Cornell University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.
