Early Hole Too Deep as Big Green Fall at Princeton, 83-70

Saturday, February 6

Princeton, N.J.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

7-13, 1-5Ivy

Princeton

14-5, 4-1Ivy

Dartmouth

Princeton

Early Hole Too Deep as Big Green Fall at Princeton, 83-70

2/6/2016 7:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Dartmouth

PRINCETON, N.J. — Princeton drilled seven of its first eight three-point attempts to build up a 23-point first-half lead, then fought off visiting Dartmouth at Jadwin Gym on Saturday night to defeat the Big Green, 83-70. Steven Cook scored a season-high 27 points for the Tigers (14-5, 4-1 Ivy) while freshman Evan Boudreaux led Dartmouth (7-13, 1-5 Ivy) in scoring for the seventh straight game with 17 points.

Princeton finished the game 13-of-24 (.542) behind the arc, the most three-pointers by a Dartmouth opponent since Yale matched that total exactly one year ago. Cook and Spencer Weisz, who had 14 points, each drilled four long balls while Henry Caruso canned three as part of his 17 points on the night. Overall the Tigers shot 53.8 percent (28-of-52) from the floor and assisted on 21 of their 28 buckets.

Meanwhile, Dartmouth had its share of trouble with the Princeton defense, shooting 37.3 percent (22-of-59) and 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from downtown. But the Big Green was able to convert at the foul line, sinking 21-of-25 (.840) to help remain in striking distance.

Princeton came out of the gate gunning with its eight three-pointers ripping the nets in the first 10 minutes — including three in less than minute — as it built up a 34-12 lead. When Devin Cannady hit the Tigers' ninth triple of the half, Princeton boasted a 46-23 advantage with 4:22 until the intermission.

Dartmouth finally strung together a run of its own, scoring the last 12 points of the half with four different players contributing. Sophomore Miles Wright finished at the hoop with a left-handed layup, sophomore Cameron Smith hit the first Big Green three-pointer of the night and Boudreaux got a shot to fall. In the final minute, 5-9 senior point guard Malik Gill found a seam in the defense and drove for a layup before the defense forced a Tiger shot-clock violation with 1.8 seconds on the clock. Wright in-bounded the ball to Boudreaux, who pulled up for a contested 35-footer which rattled on through the iron to cap the surge and make it 46-35 at the break.

In the second half, the Big Green scored the first four points to climb back with seven as Boudreaux converted two foul shots and Wright drove into the lane and got the ball to fall through for two more. Princeton would find its outside stroke again, however, after Caruso managed to knock down 1-of-2 free throws as Cook dialed up long distance to boost the lead back to 11.

Three minutes later with the difference still 11, three-pointers started to rain down at both ends. Junior Mike Fleming dropped the deficit down to eight with a triple, only to be answered by Cannady. Senior Connor Boehm popped a Big Green three-pointer, which Cook followed up with his fourth and final trifecta.

Princeton continued to keep Dartmouth at arm's length with the margin remaining between nine and 13 points until Johnson swished a three-ball to close the gap to seven again at 65-58 with 8:46 to play. The Tiger echo returned once again as Caruso hit what turned out to be the final three-pointer of the night on the very next possession.

Again the lead oscillated between 10 and 13 points for the next five minutes until junior Wesley Dickinson blocked a shot at the defensive end, then finished the break at the other with a layup to get the Green back within nine at 77-68. Johnson then made two free throws to make it a seven-point game for the third time in the second half, but Dartmouth would not score again. Princeton closed out the game by hitting 4-of-6 at the line and Cook added a layup against a trapping defense before leaving to a standing ovation from the partisan crowd of 2,553.

Dartmouth owned a 35-31 advantage on the glass and outscored the Tigers on second-chance opportunities, 12-8. Boudreaux led all players with nine rebounds while Boehm collected seven. One night after turning the ball over 19 times, the Big Green did a much better job of protecting the ball with just eight miscues, matching a season low.

Cook was 10-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-8 from long range, and 3-of-4 at the charity stripe for his 27 points to go with five assists. Weisz also have five helpers and was 4-of-5 from distance, while Caruso was 3-of-4 from deep and 5-of-9 overall while matching Pete Miller on the glass with six rebounds.

Dartmouth returns to Leede Arena next weekend when it hosts league-leading Yale (15-5, 6-0 Ivy) on Friday night and Brown (7-13, 2-4 Ivy) the following evening, both games tipping off at 7 p.m. and streamed live via Big Green Insider on the Ivy League Digital Network. Princeton hits the road to play at Cornell (6 p.m.) and Columbia (7 p.m.) on those days as well.