Barnett's 32 Points Can't Offset Vermont Trio

Tuesday, December 2

Burlington, Vt.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

1-5

Vermont

4-2

Dartmouth

Vermont

Barnett's 32 Points Can't Offset Vermont Trio

12/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Boxscore

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A Herculean effort from senior Alex Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) could not offset the Vermont trio of Marqus Blakely, Mike Trimboli and Garvey Young as the Catamounts (4-2) pulled away in the middle of the second half to defeat the visiting Dartmouth Big Green (1-5) on Tuesday evening, 88-71.

Barnett scored 32 points, topping his previous career high of 28 achieved just two weeks ago at Providence. He knocked down 12-of-19 from the floor, including an amazing 6-of-7 from long range, setting personal bests in field goals and three-pointers as well. Twenty of his points came in the second half, more than the rest of the team combined (17). The last Dartmouth player to score 30 in a game was Mike Lang with 31 at UC Davis on Dec. 20, 2004, nearly four years ago.

“While scoring 32 points is nice, I would rather score just two if it meant a win for our team,” Barnett said after the game. “My points were more out of desperation to keep our team in the game. Our offense got stagnant at times, and I needed to do something to keep us in the game.”

Freshman point guard Jabari Trotter (Northridge, Calif.) had his stroke going as well, canning 7-of-10 for 15 points, while freshman Josh Riddle (Aurora, Colo.) was the only player for the Big Green with more than three rebounds, grabbing eight boards.

Blakely was perhaps even more effective for the Catamounts, grabbing 11 rebounds and scoring 27 while hitting 11 of his 13 shots, including his only three-point attempt of the season as the shot clock was about to expire with Vermont clinging to a three-point lead with 13:25 to play. Trimboli also topped the 20-point plateau, connecting on 9-of-14 from the floor with a pair of trifectas for 23 points. Young came off the bench to contribute 19 points, nailing 3-of-4 inside the arc as well as outside.

Both teams shot over 50 percent for the game, with Dartmouth at 50.9 percent (28-of-55) and Vermont at 59.3 percent (32-of-54). The Catamounts dominated the boards at 36-24 and hit 10 more free throws. The only place the Big Green did not shoot well was the foul line where they managed to convert just 8-of-17 (.471).

Vermont held the Big Green scoreless for nearly the first five minutes as it scored the first eight points of the contest. But once senior Kurt Graeber (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) broke the ice with a pair of free throws, the points came a little more easily. Trailing 18-9, the Big Green had a 9-1 spurt to get within a point as Trotter had a bucket and a three-point play.

Another 8-0 Catamount run pushed the lead back to nine, but Barnett answered with two three-pointers to keep Dartmouth within striking distance. Three-pointers from Trimboli and Young, followed by a Young 15-footer, made it a 10-point game at 35-25 with 3:15 to go in the half. Freshman David Rufful (Warwick, R.I.) drained a three, and Trotter hit consecutive shots to make it a four-point game with just over a minute left. But a pair of Blakely free throws and a bucket from reserve Garrett Kissel made it a 42-34 game at the break.

Barnett led the Big Green at the half with 12 points thanks to a trio of trifectas, while Trotter chipped in nine, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor.

Vermont relied on Blakely, Trimboli and Young to provide all but six of its 42 first-half points, with Blakely leading the way with 14.

Dartmouth kept it close during the first two media timeouts of the second half, getting as close a two points following back-to-back layups by junior Elgin Fitzgerald (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Barnett.

After the unlikely Blakely trey, Dartmouth managed to get back within three points on a triple by Barnett. Vermont took control at that point, scoring 15 of the next 17 points spanning nearly five minutes to take a 70-54 lead. Four Big Green turnovers during that stretch that led directly to six Catamount points helped lead to Dartmouth's undoing. Trotter ended the run with a driving layup, but the Big Green would not get closer than 12 points the rest of the game.

Dartmouth has 12 days before its next game, a home contest on Sunday, Dec. 14 against Plymouth State at 2 p.m. The Catamounts travel to third-ranked Pittsburgh this Saturday for a game at 7 p.m.