First Ivy Game a 68-53 Defeat

Saturday, January 8

Hanover, N.H.

4:00 PM

Dartmouth College

4-10, 0-1Ivy

HARVARD

11-3, 1-0Ivy

Harvard

Dartmouth

1/8/2011 6:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — Four Crimson players scored in double figures, led by Keith Wright's double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, to send visiting Harvard to a 68-53 triumph over Dartmouth in the first Ivy League men's basketball game of the winter. Harvard (11-3, 1-0 Ivy) shot 53.1 percent and dominated the glass in the second half to hold off the Big Green, which fell to 4-10 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Dartmouth junior wing David Rufful had a team-high 16 points while classmate Jabari Trotter added 10 as both canned a pair of three-pointers to the delight of the 1,551 fans at Leede Arena, the Big Green's largest crowd since last year's game against Harvard drew 1,555.

The game began as a defensive struggle with the two sides scoring just eight points each in the first seven minutes. Rufful provided all eight Big Green points with two three-pointers and a layup on a swift feed from sophomore R.J. Griffin.

The Crimson enjoyed a 12-1 run over the next seven minutes, however, with Wright contributing half of those points in the post. Griffin ended the Dartmouth drought with a pair of free throws, and the next time down the court Rufful knocked down a jumper for the first Big Green field goal in eight minutes, making it a 22-13 game.

After Griffin went coast-to-coast in traffic and scored on a nifty scoop shoot of the backboard, Christian Webster drained a three-pointer for the Crimson to boost the advantage back to 10. Free throws by sophomore Matt LaBove and a quick Rufful jumper cut the lead down to six, but consecutive Crimson buckets — the second a two-hand Kyle Casey jam — countered the Big Green points. Just before the clock expired, Laurent Rivard landed a long three for Harvard for a 32-21 bulge at the break.

The rebounding to that point was even at 16 boards a side, but the Crimson shot 13-of-27 (.481) from the floor while holding Dartmouth to 7-of-23 (.304). Harvard also forced eight Big Green turnovers while committing just three of its own. Of Dartmouth's 21 points, Rufful provided 12 by hitting 5-of-8 field goals.

In the second half, Trotter began things with a bang by popping a three-pointer to get the deficit to single digits, then the two teams traded a pair of baskets. But with the difference at nine points, the Crimson scored the next four buckets — three by Webster — to enjoy their biggest lead of the night, 47-30.

A few minutes later, Dartmouth battled back with eight straight points on a layup by freshman Gediminas Bertasius sandwiched between three-pointers by rookie Tyler Melville and Trotter, making it a nine-point game once against at 49-40 with 9:31 on the clock.

That turned out to be the Green's last gasp as Harvard tallied seven quick points and never led by fewer than 12 the rest of the way.

Although Dartmouth drained half of its shots (13-of-26) and forced 10 turnovers in the second stanza, the Crimson didn't miss much on their other possessions, hitting on 13-of-22 (.591). Harvard also corralled nearly every rebound, grabbing 16 of the 22 to be had in the half, cutting off just about every second-chance opportunity for the Big Green.

Harvard, the country's leading free throw shooting team, only went to the line 14 times all day, hitting 11 for a 78.6 percent clip, just below its 81.5 percent rate entering the game. Dartmouth nearly matched the Crimson percentage-wise, but was just 7-for-9 (.778) at the charity stripe.

Joining Wright in double figures were Casey with 13, McNally with 12 and Webster with 11. Point guard Brandyn Curry was the offensive catalyst, scoring eight points while dishing out eight assists as well.

Bertasius was Dartmouth's leading rebounder with six boards, while Weeden handed out three of the team's seven assists.

Dartmouth has more than week off before playing its next game at Colgate on Monday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. The Crimson take to the floor again in one week on Jan. 15 at George Washington at 2 p.m.