Turnovers Doom Men to 60-52 Loss to Stony Brook

Tuesday, January 13

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

2-12

STONY BROOK

9-7

Stony Brook

Dartmouth

Turnovers Doom Men to 60-52 Loss to Stony Brook

1/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. ? Stony Brook survived a defensive struggle in Dartmouth's Leede Arena, thanks largely in part to forcing 22 turnovers and a 20-point night from Muhammad El-Amin, as the visiting Seawolves picked up a 60-52 victory on Tuesday night. A 7-0 run late in the second half allowed Stony Brook (9-7) to build a nine-point lead and end a brief two-game slide. The Big Green (2-12) got 11 points from senior Alex Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) while dropping its seventh straight game.

The Dartmouth defense did a solid job of pressuring the Seawolves' shooters, holding them to just 37.5 percent from the floor. Stony Brook didn't do itself any favors at the line, either, converting just 9-of-20 foul shots. Yet somehow it found the range from downtown, dropping 9-of-17 (.529) through the hoop.

In the first half, the Big Green were able to overcome 11 turnovers by shooting 54.5 percent (12-of-22). But the second half was another story as the Seawolves hounded Dartmouth's shooters to the tune of 32 percent (8-of-25). For the game, Dartmouth was more accurate overall at 42.6 percent, but could not match the Stony Brook prowess from behind the arc at 5-of-15 (.333).

Stony Brook jumped out to an early six-point advantage at 12-6 with a trio of three-pointers, two from Bryan Dougher. But those Dougher treys were the only points SBU scored over more than eight minutes as Dartmouth rallied for eight straight points, the last four from junior Elgin Fitzgerald (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

Three-pointers by Tommy Brenton and Dougher helped put Stony Brook back up, 20-16, with 7:18 left in the half, only to allow Dartmouth to embark on a 9-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 25-20. A steal by junior Robby Pride (Denver, Colo.) led to a pair of free throws by the co-captain, freshman David Rufful (Warwick, R.I.) drained a three-pointer and senior Kurt Graeber (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) provided a pair of layups, the second on a one-handed tip-in. A second-chance three by senior Dan Biber (Lorain, Ohio) just before the intermission put the Big Green up two going into the locker room, 32-30.

After getting beat on the glass in the first half, 19-14, the Seawolves stormed out of the locker room pounding the boards, scoring the first six points of the frame on putbacks, two by Dallis Joyner. After a tough runner in the lane by senior Marlon Sanders (Cleveland, Ohio) for Dartmouth's first points three-and-a-half minutes into the half, neither team could find the bottom of the hoop as both sides managed just a single free throw for nearly five minutes.

Freshman Jabari Trotter (Northridge, Calif.) tied the game at 37 with a jumper, and the two squads traded buckets before Stony Brook took the lead for good on a trifecta by Demetrius Young, his first of the season (on just his second attempt).

Dartmouth kept it close, trailing by just two with just over five minutes to play following a driving layup by Pride. An extended 7-0 run by Stony Brook, highlighted by the fourth and final triple from El-Amin with the shot clock nearly expired, gave the Seawolves their largest lead of the night at nine points, 53-44.

Barnett, averaging over 18 points a game, had been limited to just four points until the final two minutes, scoring seven of the Big Green's final eight of the night. His jumper, followed by a shot from beyond the arc, kept the deficit at five with just over a minute to play.

But Dartmouth could not take advantage of some shaky free throw shooting by the Seawolves, as they managed just 3-for-7 at the line before Marques Cox sealed the game with a pair for a six-point lead with 16 seconds on the clock.

While El-Amin hit just 8-of-18 on the night, he did find it easier from long distance, nailing 4-of-7 from three-point range. Dougher chipped in 12 points and Brenton had a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 boards.

Barnett not only led the Big Green in scoring, but also on the boards with eight.

Dartmouth will play its final non-conference game of the season on Saturday, Jan. 17, when it hosts in-state rival New Hampshire at 7 p.m. Stony Brook gets back into conference play at home against one of the America East favorites, Vermont, this Saturday as well in a 2 p.m. contest.