Big Green Fall Prey to Princeton in 71-43 Loss

Friday, March 5

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

5-22, 1-12Ivy

Princeton

18-8, 9-3Ivy

Dartmouth

Princeton

Big Green Fall Prey to Princeton in 71-43 Loss

3/5/2010 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

PRINCETON, N.J. — Princeton jumped out to a 17-2 lead out of the gate and was never threatened in defeating the visiting Dartmouth Big Green on Friday night at Jadwin Gym, 71-43. Douglas Davis led the Tigers with 15 points in just 23 minutes, but Princeton (18-8, 9-3 Ivy) was eliminated from the Ivy race as Cornell clinched the title by defeating Brown this evening. Freshman R.J. Griffin had a team-high nine points to lead Dartmouth (5-22, 1-12 Ivy).

Davis converted 6-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from long range, in posting his game-high 15 points. The only other Tiger to score in double figures was Patrick Saunders with 11 points. Twelve of the 15 players available for Princeton had at least one field goal as the Tigers shot an even 50 percent (30-of-60) from the floor.

Dartmouth struggled shooting the ball all night, hitting just 15-of-46 (.326) with two three-pointers in seven attempts. Griffin hit 4-of-6 from the floor with a triple to boast his best offensive output since scoring 16 in a win over Bucknell at the start of the calendar year. Fellow freshman Matt LaBove came off the bench to snare a game-high seven boards while contributing six points in 15 minutes of action.

Princeton enjoyed a 38-29 advantage on the glass and outscored the Big Green in the paint, 40-14. The Tigers also turned 14 Dartmouth turnovers into 20 points.

The Tigers took control of the game from the get-go, holding Dartmouth without a field goal for nearly the first seven minutes of play. The Princeton offense, meanwhile, had its outside stroke on target, hitting three consecutive three-pointers to build that 17-2 lead.

Sophomore Jabari Trotter finally broke through for the Big Green, draining a three from the right wing. Senior Robby Pride followed with a short jumper off the glass to make it 17-7, but seven straight Tiger points, capped by a long triple from Dan Mavraides, kept the margin wide.

With the score at 26-10, Dartmouth matched a Princeton hoop three straight times down the court, the last two on 17-foot jumpers by Griffin. But after Pride converted a pair of foul shots, Davis — who scored 10 of his points in the first half — ripped the nets for three. Kareem Maddox then sank his fourth field goal of the half to give the Tigers a 19-point edge, their largest of the half. The opening stanza ended with that 19-point lead intact at 39-20.

Dartmouth's struggles continued into the second half as Princeton increased its lead to as many as 32. Davis claimed the first points of the half after picking off a pass and driving the length of the floor. Three minutes later, his third trifecta boosted the lead for good above 20 points at 46-24, and Davis soon exited the game as the Tiger reserves took over.

Brendan Connolly scored all eight of his points for the Tigers in a five-minute stretch, with his third field goal giving Princeton that 32-point advantage at 61-29 with 8:50 to play. Thanks in part to a Griffin three and layup in traffic, the Big Green were able to keep the deficit under 30 when the final buzzer sounded.

Dartmouth finishes up its 2009-10 campaign at Penn (5-21, 4-8 Ivy) tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. Princeton will host Harvard (21-6, 10-3 Ivy), which pulled out a 67-66 victory at Penn in the final 15 seconds, in a battle for second place in the league.