Men's Basketball Takes Revenge On Columbia in Win Over Lions

Saturday, March 1

New York, N.Y.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

10-16,3-9Ivy

Columbia

14-13, 7-5Ivy

Dartmouth

Columbia

Men's Basketball Takes Revenge On Columbia in Win Over Lions

3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Dartmouth men's basketball showed Columbia University the meaning of payback as it beat the Lions 63-48 tonight in Levien Gymnasium. The win gives Dartmouth a 10-16 record for the season, and puts the Green at 3-9 in the Ivy League.

Junior Alex Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) scored a game-high 19 points, as sophomore Elgin Fitzgerald (Colorado Springs, Colo.) followed him with 10 points of his own. Barnett and junior Kurt Graeber (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) were a dominant tag-team on boards, as each pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.

Both Dartmouth and Columbia struggled to break the ice to start the game, as each put a powerful defense on the floor. The score remained tied at two at six minutes into the game. Although Columbia pulled ahead 9-4, the Big Green fought back, as a three from Barnett tied the game up once again.

With nine minutes left to play in the first half, Dartmouth began to pull away, starting with a jumper from freshman Ronnie Dixon (Danville, Ill.). The Green scored eight unanswered points as the Lions experienced a four-minute drought to put the score at 23-13. Through it all, the Big Green held onto the ball like a team of vice grips, stealing the ball away from Columbia seven times in the first half, while denying the Lions even a single steal.

Fitzgerald put a team-high eight points on the board for the Big Green in the first half, as Dartmouth stretched its lead to 13. Going into halftime, the Big Green defense had successfully held Columbia to a mere 14 points, with the score set at 27-14.

Columbia emerged determined to put Dartmouth away in the second half, scoring two consecutive treys from seniors Brett Loscalzo and Mack Montgomery. However, the Green was having none of it, as Michael Giovacchini (Salt Lake City, Utah) and DeVon Mosley (Mesquite, Texas) answered the Lions with two threes of their own.

Although Dartmouth could not pull off another run like it had in the first half, it was nevertheless able to hold onto the lead it had already earned. For every burst of scoring from Columbia, the Big Green responded, stepping up the defense and pouring in points of its own. Having not played in the first half, junior Marlon Sanders (Cleveland, Ohio) charged onto the court in the second half to put seven points on the board.

With Columbia running out of time, the Lions repeatedly sent Dartmouth to the foul line in desperation. However, with Barnett going 6-for-6 from the line, Big Green scored a staggering 13 consecutive free throws to keep ahead of Columbia. As Mosley and Giovacchini tossed the ball back and forth to run down the clock in Dartmouth's final possession, the cheers from the Big Green section of the stands drowned out the home crowd.

The Big Green will return home next weekend for its final series of the season against Yale and Brown. Dartmouth will take on the Bulldogs at 7:00 pm on Friday, March 7, and will face the Bears at 7:00 pm on Saturday, March 8.