Eleven-Point Lead Slips Away Against Army, 61-54

Saturday, January 3

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

2-10

ARMY

4-9

Army

Dartmouth

Eleven-Point Lead Slips Away Against Army, 61-54

1/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. ? Cleveland Richard's three-pointer with just over a minute to play put Army in the lead for good, disappointing 703 fans at Leede Arena on Saturday evening by knocking off host Dartmouth, 61-54. The Black Knights (4-9) overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half to sweep the two-game series this season, while Dartmouth (2-10) lost its fifth straight game.

After the Big Green took a 46-35 advantage on a layup by freshman David Rufful (Warwick, R.I.), the Army defense clamped down, allowing just eight points in the final 10 minutes. The Black Knights still trailed by 10, 50-40, with 7:30 to play before finishing the game on a 21-4 run.

Richard gave Army its first lead since the first half at 53-52 with a 15-footer and just 2:18 to play. Dartmouth had an answer in sophomore Ronnie Dixon (Danville, Ill.) who canned a 19-footer, putting the Green back on top. But Richard came right back with his three-pointer from the right wing for a 56-54 lead which the Black Knights would not relinquish, thanks to hitting 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch.

Richard finished with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Julian Simmons added 15 with three trifectas, his first triples in seven games. Forward Doug Williams had six of Army's 35 rebounds, and Josh Miller did a little bit of everything with eight points, five assists and four steals.

Senior Alex Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) led the Big Green with 17 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Clive Weeden (Stow, Mass.) contributed a career-high 10 points, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor, while junior Robby Pride (Denver, Colo.) chipped in seven points and a career-best six boards.

Free throw shooting proved to be a problem for Dartmouth, hitting just 3-of-11 (.273) from the line, as was its long-range prowess at 5-of-20 (.250) from behind the arc. The Black Knights, meanwhile, hit 12-of-18 (.667) from the charity stripe and 5-of-10 (.500) from downtown. Army was the aggressor on defense as well, picking up 10 steals to just two for the host Green.

After shooting just 31.3 percent from the floor in the first half, Dartmouth came out of the locker room with the hot hand. Freshman Jabari Trotter (Northridge, Calif.) drained a three-pointer to open the stanza and give the Big Green a 27-24 lead. The next six Dartmouth points were scored by Barnett, but a pair of three-pointers by Simmons kept Army within one, 33-32.

Weeden helped put some space between the Green and the Black Knights by igniting an 11-2 run with a trio of buckets, putting Dartmouth up by double digits. A few minutes later, Army began its comeback.

Coming off a three-game Western swing during which they shot just 27.7 percent, the Big Green continued to struggle with their shot early in the game, hitting just one of their first 10 attempts as Army opened up a 9-2 lead. But with the shot clock winding down, Barnett caught an air ball and made a no-look shot behind his head to spark Dartmouth to a 10-2 spurt of its own and a 12-11 lead midway through the half.

Neither team could mount much offense in the opening stanza as they went to the locker room tied at the half at 24. Pride scored the last five points of the half, tying the score at 24 with a three-pointer. Both squads shot under 40 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Dartmouth opens up the Ivy League season with a home game against Harvard (7-6, 0-0) next Saturday at 7 p.m. Army returns to West Point to host Fairfield on Tuesday at 7 p.m.