Oh So Close for the Men at Yale

Friday, February 25

New Haven, Conn.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-20, 1-10Ivy

Yale

13-12, 6-5Ivy

OT 1

Dartmouth

Yale

2/25/2011 9:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Trying to snap a seven-game skid and win at Lee Amphitheater for the first time in 12 years, the Dartmouth Big Green men's basketball team took host Yale to overtime before succumbing in the extra period, 79-75. Senior Ronnie Dixon had 18 points in a valiant effort by the Green, but could not keep Dartmouth from dropping to 5-20 on the season and 1-10 in the Ivy League. Yale (13-12, 6-5 Ivy) got 19 points from Porter Braswell, including six crucial free throws in overtime.

Neither team led by more than six all night as the score was tied 15 separate times and changed hands on another 13 occasions. At only one point in the final 12 minutes of regulation was the game not within one possession.

In overtime, Dartmouth got the upper hand when freshman Gediminas Bertasius was able to sneak a reverse layup past the long arms of Bulldog Greg Mangano, who nearly had a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks. After Mangano misfired on a three-point attempt, Dixon drove through the lane and hit the layup on a tough angle for a four-point Big Green lead at 69-65 with 3:11 to play.

Braswell got to the line the next time down the floor and converted his two foul shots. On the next Yale possession, senior Clive Weeden swatted away Braswell's layup attempt, only to see the ball get worked back around the perimeter to Isaiah Salafia who drilled a three-pointer — his only field goal of the night — for a 70-69 Bulldog lead. It was Yale's first triple since the first half.

After Bertasius knocked down 1-of-2 at the line to the game, Mangano went to the hook shot on the baseline from 10 feet, hitting nothing but net. A Dixon layup attempt was blocked by Mangano, leading to a Big Green foul to send Salafia to the charity stripe. He did not disappoint the home crowd of 1,021, canning both free throws for a four-point lead at 74-70.

The two teams traded free throws before Melville drove for his final two points of the night (giving him 12) with a layup, then turned around and committed his fifth foul on the in-bounds play. Braswell would not give the Green even a glimmer of hope by drilling four free throws in the final 10 seconds, sealing the Yale victory.

The second stanza was just as thrilling with Dartmouth holding the advantage early before the Bulldogs built up a six-point lead with 13 minutes to play on a layup by Jeremiah Kreisberg. After trading buckets, the Big Green ran off seven straight points to retake the lead on a Kirk Crecco free throw and a baseline jumper by freshman Nick Jackson sandwiched between two Melville layups.

Weeden and Braswell each provided two baskets before Dixon drilled a three-pointer for a 57-53 Dartmouth lead with seven minutes remaining. In the final four minutes, the lead was no more than two for either side. Kreisberg sank two free throws with just under a minute left for a two-point Bulldog edge, only to have Dixon come right back with a layup to tie the game at 65 while getting fouled. While his free throw was off the mark, Weeden was able to swat the ball out to a teammate. After a timeout, Bertasius had a layup attempt blocked by Mangano, but Yale missed on a three-point shot in the final seconds, sending the game to overtime.

Dartmouth maintained a lead for most of the first half with a variety of buckets from seven different players. Sophomore R.J. Griffin made aggressive moves to the hoop for consecutive layups and Dixon came off the bench to provide three straight baskets. But it was Griffin's three-pointer — the only one of the half for the Green — that gave Dartmouth its largest advantage of the opening stanza at 23-17 with 8:20 on the clock.

Yale stormed back as it found its stroke from downtown. Braswell hit the first bomb of the night midway through the period, but it was a trio of triples — two by Managno — in a three-minute span that propelled the Bulldogs to a five-point lead late in the half at 30-25.

Thanks to an 8-2 spurt over the final three minutes of the half, the Big Green were able to hold a slim one-point edge at the intermission, 33-32. Junior Jabari Trotter canned a pair of 15-footers, Griffin sank a pair of foul shots and Weeden slammed home the final points before the buzzer with a two-hand jam.

Dartmouth turned the ball over a season-low eight times in the game, but hurt itself at the line by hitting just 17-of-30 (.567) while Yale finished the night at 24-of-32 (.750). The Bulldogs held the advantage on the boards at 41-36 and was little better on field goals as well at 46.3 percent (25-of-54) compared to 43.1 percent (28-of-65) for the Green.

Weeden finished the night tying a career-high 13 rebounds and was one of three Dartmouth players with nine points.

Reggie Willhite joined Mangano with a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out in the second half. Kreisberg chipped in 14 points as well.

Dartmouth heads to Providence, R.I., for its final road game of the season on Saturday night, playing against Brown (10-15, 3-8 Ivy) at 6 p.m. Yale hosts Harvard (21-4, 10-1 Ivy) tomorrow night as well at 6 p.m.