Loyola Pulls Away Late in 58-41 Big Green Loss

Tuesday, November 24

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

0-4

LOYOLA (MD.)

3-2

Loyola (Md.)

Dartmouth

Loyola Pulls Away Late in 58-41 Big Green Loss

11/24/2009 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. — While sophomore forward Josh Riddle established a new personal-best in scoring for the third time in four games this year with 11 points, his Dartmouth (0-4) squad was outscored by visiting Loyola (Md.) over the final 12 minutes by a 21-3 margin as the Greyhounds broke open a hotly contested game for a 58-41 victory at Leede Arena on Tuesday evening. Shane Walker had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Loyola (3-2).

The Dartmouth defense did its part to slow the Greyhounds, holding them to 40 percent from the floor and just 1-of-11 (.091) from long range. But it was the offensive glass that did in the Big Green as Loyola snared 17 offensive boards which led to 16 second-chance points. Overall, the Greyhounds outrebounded Dartmouth, 44-29.

For the fourth time in four games, the Big Green was held to under 40 percent field goal shooting, hitting 17-of-48 (.354) and just 1-of-10 over the fateful final 12 minutes. Riddle was 5-of-10 shooting and senior co-captain Robby Pride was 3-of-5 for seven points, but the rest of the Big Green managed just nine field goals in 33 attempts.

After Riddle drove to the hoop for a layup for the first points of the game, Loyola ran off 11 straight, capped by a Brian Rudolph three-pointer. Dartmouth answered with seven consecutive points of their own, and while the Greyhounds never relinquished the lead in the opening stanza, the difference was never more than five points.

Loyola had a chance to widen that five-point edge in the final seconds of the half, but sophomore Jabari Trotter came up with a steal and was fouled with 3.1 seconds on the clock. Trotter took the ensuing in-bounds pass, dribbled a few times and let a 32-footer fly just before the buzzer that ripped the net to make the score 27-25 at the break.

The statistics at the midway point bore out the close score as Loyola had a slight edge in rebounds, 19-17, while the Big Green were 3-of-5 from three-point range, with Trotter canning both his attempts from downtown. Dartmouth, could have held the lead if it were not for shooting 2-of-6 from the foul line.

Dartmouth remained within striking distance early in the second half, with the deficit ranging between two and six points. When the Greyhounds went go up by six, Riddle responded with back-to-back 12-footers to get it back to two. Again Loyola went up by six only to watch freshman center Matt LaBove hit consecutive layups.

Riddle finally got the Green over the hump with another jumper, this time from the free throw line, tying the game at 37. The next time down the floor, Riddle hit 1-of-2 free throws to give Dartmouth a one-point lead.

It appeared Dartmouth would go up by three when Pride drove to the hoop on a fast break, only Walker had other ideas, swatting the shot away to lead to a three-point play by Brett Harvey. That was the start of the end for the Big Green.

Junior Ronnie Dixon did drive the lane with just under eight minutes to play, putting up a nifty scoop shot to make it a 44-40 game. Unfortunately, that would be the final field goal of the game for Dartmouth. Walker provided the next six Greyhound points, giving Loyola a double-digit lead for good.

Harvey was the only other Greyhound to score in double figures with 10 points despite hitting just 1-of-6 from three-point range. Both Jamal Barney and Julius Brooks hit the boards with eight rebounds apiece in support of Walker's 11.

Dartmouth's leading rebounder was sophomore David Rufful with six while Riddle pitched in five boards.

The Big Green will next host Hartford on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. in search of their first victory of the year. Loyola has a week off before hosting Morgan State on Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.