Gill, Johnson Spark Big Green to 63-50 Win over Harvard

Saturday, January 23

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

7-9, 1-1Ivy

Harvard

9-9, 1-1Ivy

Harvard

Dartmouth

Gill, Johnson Spark Big Green to 63-50 Win over Harvard

1/23/2016 9:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — After scoring just two points in the first eight-plus minutes of the second half while falling behind by 11 points, the Dartmouth men's basketball team was in need of a spark. Head coach Paul Cormier found two such sparks on his bench as senior Malik Gill and sophomore Taylor Johnson combined to score 21 points in the final 11:30 as the duo helped the Big Green (7-9, 1-1 Ivy) rally for a 63-50 victory over visiting Harvard (9-9, 1-1 Ivy) in front of 1,531 fans at Leede Arena on Saturday night.

The outcome was eerily similar to Dartmouth's 70-61 victory in Cambridge last year, during which the Green fell behind by 14, 43-29, in the second half before putting together a 24-2 run en route to the win. This year, the score reached 40-29 before Dartmouth ran off a 25 of the next 29 points before closing out the game. And it was Gill that began each outburst with a driving layup.

“Not only did we not allow any good looks at the basket after falling behind by 11 points, we were able to score off of our defense,” said Cormier after the game. “Malik used his quick hands to get some steals, and Taylor got his hands on the ball defensively as well, and we were able to convert off of those steals in transition. And with the big crowd getting into the game, I think our guys really responded well to that and showed great energy at both ends of the floor.”

Dartmouth took a one-point lead into the locker room at the half, 27-26, but Harvard clamped down on defense in holding the Big Green without a field goal for more than eight minutes at the outset of the second stanza. Back-to-back three-pointers by Corey Johnson and Corbin Miller, followed by a bucket by Zena Edosomwan, who led the Crimson with 18 points, gave the five-time defending champs a 40-29 lead with 11:40 to play.

That bucket by Edosomwan, however, was the last one for Harvard for nearly 10 minutes as Dartmouth went to work at both ends of the court. After Gill's drive to the basket, he stole the ball back and was fouled, sending him to the line where he knocked down a pair of foul shots.

Evan Boudreaux posted double-doubles against Harvard in both meetings this year.

Johnson began to assert himself with a long defensive rebound, then driving the length of the floor before dishing to senior Brendan McDonnell for an easy deuce. A Harvard timeout could not stem the tide as Gill picked another pocket, then found freshman Evan Boudreaux for a three-pointer at the top of the key.

Harvard had opportunities to quell the uprising at the free throw line, but the Crimson time and again failed to take advantage as they converted just 6-of-20 (.300) foul shots on the night. After Edosomwan missed two freebies, Johnson launched a 25-footer that swished through with the shot clock about to expire, giving Dartmouth 12 straight points and 41-40 lead.

The two sides traded a few free throws, leading to a 43-all tie before Johnson poked the ball loose and Gill corralled the hot potato for an easy layup and the lead. Edosomwan, who was 8-for-14 from the floor but 2-of-10 at the charity stripe, got one of two foul shots to fall to close the gap to one, but Johnson started a nine-point run with a three-pointer from the left wing and a pair of free throws. After Boudreaux, who registered his fifth double-double of the year with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, sank 1-of-2 at the line, Harvard missed two, which allowed senior Connor Boehm to give the Green a 10-point lead with a three-pointer with under two minutes to play.

Corbin Miller finally ended the Crimson drought from the floor with a jumper, but Harvard never got closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Big Green closed out the victory at the foul line, hitting five of their last eight attempts.

Dartmouth, which missed its first seven field goal attempts in the second half, closed the game by drilling 9-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from long range. For the game, neither team hit 40 percent of its field goals with the Big Green at 38.8 percent (19-of-49) and Harvard at 39.2 percent (20-of-51). The big difference was at the foul line where Dartmouth knocked down 20-of-26 (.769).

The Big Green also enjoyed a sizable advantage on the glass, collecting 42 rebounds to just 28 for the Crimson. Agunwa Okolie, who had a career-high 29 points for Harvard in the first meeting two weeks ago, managed 13 this time around to go with a team-high eight boards while Edosomwan hauled in seven.

Gill's 11 points were a season high for the 5-9 point guard, but his four steals were just as important. Johnson did not miss a shot in tallying a career-best 10 points, going 3-for-3 from the floor with two triples and 2-for-2 at the line. Sophomore Miles Wright, who had 23 points against Harvard two weeks ago, got into foul trouble and managed just one point tonight, but did snare seven caroms.

The game was tight throughout the first half with the largest lead for either side being five points when Harvard held a 13-8 advantage. Boudreaux scored the final eight points of the half for Dartmouth with a three-pointer, three free throws and a layup to help the Big Green to an important one-point lead at the intermission. Important because Dartmouth has won every game in which it has been ahead at halftime this season and lost all of the others.

Dartmouth, which has won its last three games, will look to sweep its current five-game homestand when it hosts Columbia and Cornell next weekend. The games on Friday and Saturday will both tip off at 7 p.m., respectively, and will be streamed live via Big Green Insider on the Ivy League Digital Network.

Notes: Dartmouth had lost its last seven games at home against Harvard, dating back to a 73-56 win on Jan. 11, 2008 ... Boehm, playing in his 100th career game, added nine points to his ledger and needs just 14 to become the 28th player in Big Green history to reach 1,000 in a career ... this is the first victory for Dartmouth this season when scoring less than 70 points ... the 50 points for Harvard were a season low for a Big Green opponent ... the last time Dartmouth came back from a double-digit deficit to win was in the regular season finale last year against Yale.