Dartmouth Succumbs to Harvard in Second Half, 82-68

Saturday, January 21

Cambridge, Mass.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

3-12, 0-2

Harvard

10-5, 2-0

Dartmouth

Harvard

Dartmouth Succumbs to Harvard in Second Half, 82-68

1/21/2017 3:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Box Score (HTML)ILDN Highlights

By: Dartmouth

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A 16-5 run to end the first half gave Dartmouth a 35-34 lead at the intermission, but Harvard shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the second half and drained 13 three-pointers to defeat the Big Green on Saturday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion, 82-68.

Seth Towns came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points for the host Crimson (10-5, 2-0 Ivy) while Corey Johnson ripped off five triples in just seven tries for all 15 of his points. Zena Edosomwan carried the load in the post with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go with seven rebounds, matching Chris Lewis to lead Harvard.

For Dartmouth (3-12, 0-2 Ivy), sophomores Guilien Smith and Evan Boudreaux combined to score nearly half of the points with 18 and 15, respectively. Senior Wesley Dickinson (12) and freshman Brendan Barry (10) also scored in double figures, and junior Miles Wright led the Green with seven rebounds.

Harvard threatened to run away with the game early courtesy of the long ball, draining eight three-pointers in the opening half, seven of which came in just over the first 11 minutes of action to help the Crimson build up a 12-point lead, 25-13. Johnson provided the last of that septet, his third of the stanza, before Dartmouth clawed its way back.

Still trailing by 12 at 29-17 with seven minutes on the clock, a simple backdoor pass from Dickinson to Smith for an easy layup lit the spark the Big Green were looking for. Barry found the range from the perimeter for a trifecta, then added two free throws after a Boudreaux bucket down low for a nine-point run.

Even after Towns ended the spurt with Harvard's eighth trey, it didn't slow down Dartmouth, which scored nine of the next 11 points as well. The last five were provided by Wright, first with a tip-in with 41 seconds left, then a corner three just before the clock expired for the Big Green's first lead of the game at 35-34.

Both teams hit 12-of-28 field goals (.429) over the first 20 minutes, and Dartmouth countered the Crimson's advantage from long range by converting 8-of-9 at the line. The Big Green's success on the scoreboard was also due to a strong rebounding effort that produced a 21-12 advantage while not allowing Harvard any second-chance points.

After the break, the Crimson quickly took a five-point lead with two more three-pointers in the first three minutes, only to have Dartmouth answer with six straight points — the last coming on a Boudreaux three-point play — to reclaim the edge at 43-42.

The next four-and-a-half minutes belonged to Harvard, however, as it went on a 15-4 run, scoring mostly in the paint with five layups, two from Edosomwan on putbacks. Corbin Miller capped the spurt by raining in a corner three to suddenly give the Crimson a 10-point lead, 57-47, and force Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin to call a timeout.

Dickinson briefly brought the deficit back into single digits with a layup off a wrap-around feed by junior Taylor Johnson. But when Justin Bassey sank to foul shots with 9:40 to play, the Harvard lead remained at least 10 the rest of the way, bulging to as many as 17 on two occasions.

Smith finished the day 6-of-15 shooting and 2-of-5 from behind the arc, while Boudreaux was 5-of-11 and Dickinson an efficient 5-of-7. As a team, Dartmouth shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) overall, with four triples in 12 attempts, plus knocked down 20-of-27 free throws (.741). In addition to his 10 points, Barry also dished out a season-high six assists.

Harvard ended the game hitting 28-of-58 field goals (.483) and 13-of-24 (.542) three-pointers, not to mention a near-perfect 13-of-14 (.929) at the line. The Big Green maintained a 35-30 edge on the glass, but nine Harvard blocks — three each by Edosomwan and Chris Lewis — stifled Dartmouth on the blocks.

The Big Green begin Friday-Saturday action in the Ivy League next weekend when they travel to Columbia and Cornell. Tip off at the Lions' Levien Gymasium is scheduled for Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., and the game in Ithaca against the Big Red is slated for 6 p.m. Both contests will be aired live on the Ivy League Digital Network, while the Cornell contest will also be available on ESPN3.