Dartmouth took control of the game from the beginning, taking a swift 12-4 lead and running a tough defense. After the Crimson hit just two field goals in the first two-and-a-half minutes, the Big Green held them to one-of-10 shooting from the floor. Dartmouth also forced six turnovers in more than 10 minutes.
"Our team played much better defense this game," forward Connor Boehm '16 said. "Coach put emphasis on defense and taking charges during practice last week."
In the first half Dartmouth dictated the tempo of the game, boasting a 56.5 percent shooting average to Harvard's 33.3 percent. The Big Green defense held the Crimson to inferior shooting percentages, even though the Crimson entered the night ranked nationally as one of the top 25 teams in field goal percentage.
Dartmouth's dominance continued throughout the second half, with the Crimson never coming within a possession of the Big Green, until 40 seconds remained in regulation.
When Malik Gill '16 hit two free throws with 3:49 to play, Dartmouth saw its largest lead of the night at 57-44. Soon after, a critical moment in the game changed the fate of the night. Harvard's star freshman guard Siyani Chambers drove to the basket where Gabas Maldunas '15 tried to position himself to take the charge.
Although a referee initially called a charge that would have been Chambers' fifth foul, another referee overturned the call, giving Chambers two charity shots and Maldunas his fourth foul. What could have been the removal of one of Harvard's key players in the last minutes of the game turned into an extra point for the Crimson, when Chambers hit one of the two free throws.
Harvard notched a three-pointer to end a string of 13 consecutive misses beyond the arc to make the score 57-50 with 1:33 to go. Dartmouth managed to let its lead slip away, converting on only five-of-nine at the foul line.
"Poor defense is what killed us," Kevin Crescenzi '16 said. "We just failed to execute down the stretch."
Harvard rained in two more three-pointers before Chambers tied the game with a driving layup at 16.8 seconds to go. Gill tried to end the game with a three-pointer in the final seconds, but a miss sent the game into overtime.
"It was a much tougher atmosphere to play in going into overtime than during regulation play," Crescenzi said. "Harvard had a lot of momentum."
The Crimson sealed the deal in the final minutes of play, coming out strong with the first six points of the extra period and converting 13-of-15 at the foul line. Harvard's performance at the charity stripe outshone Dartmouth's, who shot just 15-of-24 (62.5 percent).
The Big Green faced Harvard just two weeks ago at Leede Arena and suffered a similar heart-breaking last minute loss, 75-65.
"The team played with much more confidence and felt like it was our game to win," Gill said. "I think two weeks ago we were much less sure of ourselves, even though we controlled both games up until the end."
Although Dartmouth's hard work and intensity didn't pay off with a win, its improved play still left the team hopeful.
"The team is very confident right now, knowing we are 0-2 in conference play and should be 2-0 right now," Gill said.
Dartmouth put forth a true team effort, with contributions spread among many players. John Golden '15 and Gill put up 15 points apiece, while Boehm recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and a season-high five steals in his 42 minutes of play.
"It is hard to get positives from a loss like that," Boehm said. "But our team now knows we should be able to beat every other team on our schedule."
The Big Green returns home next weekend to face Brown University on Friday night. Tip off will be at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.
