Weeden Double-Double, Balanced Attack Lead Men to Victory

Saturday, November 27

Hanover, N.H.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

2-4

COLGATE

0-5

Colgate

Dartmouth

Weeden Double-Double, Balanced Attack Lead Men to Victory

11/27/2010 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — Senior Clive Weeden registered his third career double-double while six Big Green players scored in double figures to lead Dartmouth (2-4) to an 80-63 victory over the visiting Colgate Raiders on Saturday afternoon. Weeden equaled his career best output of 14 points to pace all Big Green scorers and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Mitch Rolls and Pat Moore each had 14 points for Colgate (0-5), which remains winless this season.

Most of Weeden's offensive output came in the first half with 12 of his 14 points, but the final two came on a thunderous two-hand jam with just over two minutes to play, providing an exclamation point for the win. Four players (one from each class) scored 11 points for Dartmouth — senior Ronnie Dixon, junior David Rufful, sophomore R.J. Griffin and freshman Gediminas Bertasius — and junior Jabari Trotter pitched in 10 in the Big Green's biggest offensive output against a Division I opponent since a 100-82 loss to Providence more than two years ago.

After holding a five-point lead at the break, the Big Green pulled away in the second half thanks to excellent shooting (57.7 percent from the floor, 81.3 percent from the line) and a strong effort on the boards (22-12 advantage). Both Trotter and Bertasius scored all of their points in the second stanza to help put the game away.

But it was Weeden and Griffin who carried Dartmouth through the first half with 23 points between the two. The Big Green established the inside game early with Weeden, and he came through with six of the first nine points. Colgate took a brief 11-9 lead as Mike Venezia scored the first eight points and Pat Moore put the Raiders ahead with a triple, but the Big Green rattled off nine straight points — the first five coming from Griffin on a trifecta and a pair of free throws — to take an 18-11 lead.

Griffin ripped the nets for consecutive triples from the left corner before Dixon converted a contested running layup to boost the advantage to the largest difference in the first half at 26-16. The Raiders battled back with a 7-0 spurt before Weeden broke the string with two free throws.

Colgate managed to get within one point with just over three minutes remaining in the half, but Rufful knocked down a jumper and Weeden knocked down two free throws to make it a 34-29 game at the intermission.

The first half was a very even affair with both teams hauling in 20 rebounds and shooting under 35 percent. The difference came in the form of turnovers as Dartmouth turned nine Raider miscues into eight points, while the Green coughed up the ball just four times that led to four Colgate points.

Rufful scored the first six points of the second half for Dartmouth, all on shots in the paint, but came up lame after his third bucket and left the game with just over 16 minutes to play. Without the Big Green's leading rebounder, the team pounded the boards even harder, grabbing nine more than the Raiders the rest of the way.

Moore hit one of his four threes on the afternoon to halve the deficit to three at 40-37, but Trotter answered with a trey of his own with 15:18 to play. Colgate never was within one possession the rest of the day.

Bertasius took over midway through the second half, providing a 9-1 run all by himself, boosting the Dartmouth lead to 13 at 56-43 with eight minutes to go. Then it was Trotter's turn as he canned a pair of jumpers before drilling his second three-pointer for a 63-49 edge.

Colgate had one last gasp by scoring six consecutive points, three coming a Brandon James trifecta, but junior Kirk Crecco stomped out the brief spark with a bucket in the lane while getting fouled. The basket began a 9-0 run that included Weeden's dunk on a long feed from Bertasius. The Big Green converted 9-of-10 at the line in the final 90 seconds to subdue any Raider hopes of making a miraculous comeback.

Dartmouth enjoyed a fine afternoon at the foul line, sinking 21 of its 24 free throws (.875). Colgate, which came into the game shooting 76.9 percent from the charity stripe, was just 13-of-19 (.684). The Big Green defense also held the Raiders' leading scorer and rebounder, Yaw Gyawu, to just four points and five rebounds.

Dartmouth has one more game before final exams, playing at Vermont on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. Colgate takes to the hardwood again next Saturday with a home game versus New Hampshire at 2 p.m.

Notes: The last time Dartmouth had even five players score in double figures came on Nov. 10, 2007 in a 98-87 victory over VMI ... Weeden was just one rebound away from equaling his career high as well ... the 11 points for Bertasius are his most this year in the young season ... this is the first game that Rufful did not lead the team in rebounds ... the Big Green outscored Colgate in the paint, 30-14.