Late Threes Sink Dartmouth in Home Opener, 65-53

Wednesday, November 16

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

0-2

VERMONT

1-1

Vermont

Dartmouth

Late Threes Sink Dartmouth in Home Opener, 65-53

11/16/2011 9:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — Dartmouth enjoyed a seven-point lead at halftime in its home opener, but Vermont asserted itself in the second stanza to beat the host Big Green in front of a crowd of 1,319 at Leede Arena on Wednesday evening, 65-53. Brendan Bald led the Catamount charge with 19 of his game-high 21 points coming in the second half to help Vermont (1-1) earn its first victory of the young season. Junior Matt LaBove led the Big Green (0-2) with 10 points.

The Dartmouth defense was particularly pesky in the first half when it forced 13 turnovers before finishing the night with 20, half coming on steals. But much like the Big Green's season opener at Rutgers, the game came down to rebounding, where the Catamounts pulled down 16 offensive boards and owned an overall 42-23 advantage. Pat Bergmann provided a double-double off the bench with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Brian Voelkel snared nine caroms and Ben Crenca chipped in 10 points.

The Big Green struggled with their shooting stroke, connecting on just 18-of-51 for the game (.353) and 4-of-14 (.286) from three-point range. Freshman forward Gabas Maldunas was able to contribute nine points and a team-high seven rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench for Dartmouth, while the Ivy League co-Rookie of the Week Jvonte Brooks chipped in six points and five boards before fouling out.

The game began as a back-and-forth affair, with neither side leading by more than three points with five ties during the first 10 minutes. When Sandro Carissimo scored on a fastbreak layup, however, Vermont went up by a 15-11 count.

Dartmouth enjoyed its finest run of the game over the next seven minutes with a 13-2 spurt. LaBove tallied the first six Big Green points in the run, sandwiching a pair of free throws around a pair of buckets. With the score tied at 17, freshman John Golden drained one of his two three-pointers on the night. Two Catamount turnovers later, another rookie, Mack McKearny, laid one in on the break, then popped a jumper to complete the run with Dartmouth in front, 24-17.

A single free throw by Bergmann was answered with a Maldunas layup and two foul shots by Brooks, giving the Big Green their largest lead of the night at 10 points, 28-18, with 1:34 to play in the half. Vermont managed to cut the deficit back down to seven at 29-22 before the buzzer sounded.

The Catamounts' second possession of the second half was a harbinger of what was to come as they snagged five offensive rebounds before finally putting the ball through the iron on their sixth try. Although senior Jabari Trotter answered with a quick pull-up jumper from the top of the key, Vermont would tie the score with seven straight points, the first three on Bald's first of five three-pointers in the stanza.

Maldunas briefly stemmed the tied with a layup, but the next seven minutes of action belonged to the Catamounts as they ripped off a 20-6 run. Dartmouth managed to keep Vermont from scoring for the next four minutes while halving the 12-point difference down to six as senior David Rufful sank a three from the corner and stopped and popped from the paint for the bulk of the string of Big Green points.

But with less than six minutes to play, Bald quickly put the game out of reach, drilling three consecutive triples in the span of 70 seconds. Suddenly Vermont was cruising with a 15-point lead at 60-45. A couple of late threes by McKearney and Golden brought the game to a close.

Dartmouth finishes up a brief two-game homestand on Saturday when Bryant (1-2) comes to town for a 7 p.m. game. Vermont will play in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Uncasville, Conn., this weekend, beginning with Marist at 6 p.m. on Saturday.