Big Green Fend Off Loyola on the Road, 82-80

Sunday, November 11

Baltimore, Md.

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

2-1

Loyola (Md.)

0-2

Team	1	2	F
Dartmouth	48	34	82
Loyola Maryland	43	37	80

Chris Knight scored 13 of his career-high 19 points in the final nine minutes

Photo by: Craig Chase

11/11/2018 6:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Dartmouth led for nearly the entire game, but had to survive a last-second 3-point attempt to defeat the Greyhounds

By: Rick Bender

BALTIMORE, Md. — The Dartmouth men's basketball team fought off host Loyola (Md.) and survived a last-second 3-point attempt to defeat the Greyhounds at Reitz Arena on Sunday evening, 82-80. Sophomores Adrease Jackson and Chris Knight each recorded career highs with 25 and 19 points, respectively, to help the Big Green (2-1) earn their first road win of the season while dropping Loyola to 0-2.

The two Dartmouth high scorers both knocked down seven field goals — Knight in 12 attempts, Jackson 14 — but the latter hit a personal-best five from behind the arc in eight attempts, though Knight even got into the long-distance act with his first career triple. Jackson also converted all six of his free throws, and Knight hit 4-of-6 at the line to complete their scoring lines. As a team, the Big Green were 13-of-23 (.565) from the perimeter, giving them 50 3-pointers over the first three games.

Dartmouth led for nearly the entire game and by as many as 15 in the first half, but the Greyhounds nipped at the Big Green's heels until they took a 72-71 lead on a layup by KaVaughn Scott, who was fouled in the process. The free throw was off the mark, however, and Knight answered with bucket in the paint to reclaim the lead.

Loyola went back ahead on a Sam Norton driving layup, only to have Jackson score his final two points of the night on a pair of free throws. Those free throws were matched by Andrew Kostecka, yet once again Knight responded with a shot in the lane for a 77-76 lead and 2:28 on the clock.

After Scott knocked down 1-of-2 free throws, senior Guilien Smith drove to the rim and got the layup to fall through. Scott went to the line again after a timeout, converting both shots, before junior James Foye rebounded his own miss and was fouled going back up. His free throws hit nothing but net for an 81-79 lead with 1:29 to play.

The two teams traded turnovers, giving Loyola a chance to tie or take the lead. Knight blocked a shot in the lane, but the rebound went out of bounds off the Green. Kostecka then put up a 3-pointer that was off the mark, and junior Brendan Barry was fouled after securing the rebound with 6.7 seconds left.

A career 83 percent free throw shooter, Barry canned the first one to give him 12 points, but the second hit the back iron. Foye fouled Chuck Champion before he could start shooting from behind the arc, sending him to the line for two shots with 2.2 seconds to go. He hit the first to give him 17 points, then missed the second purposefully, yet still the game would not end as the rebound went off a Dartmouth player out of bounds with 1.2 seconds remaining. Brent Holcombe, who led Loyola with 20 points, got a look from the corner behind the arc, but hit the side of the backboard to finally allow Dartmouth to escape with the victory.

The Big Green came out of the chute launching long-range daggers as they drilled a trio of 3-pointers in the first three minutes — one each from Foye, Barry and Jackson — causing Loyola to call a quick timeout. Knight pushed the game-opening run to 13 points with two foul shots before the Greyhounds could break the spell on a short Champion jumper in the paint.

Jackson and Barry each drained another long ball to boost the Big Green lead to its largest of the game at 23-8. But Loyola had a run of its own, matching the 13-point run that Dartmouth started with, then tying the game at 27 on a pair of Champion buckets.

The deadlock was short-lived, however, as junior Ian Sistare ripped off consecutive trifectas for his only points of the night, and Jackson answered a Scott layup with another bomb from the perimeter to give Dartmouth a 36-29 advantage. In the final two minutes, the two teams traded two sets of triples, including Jackson's fourth of the half to give him 18 points. After two Loyola free throws, Smith ended the half by splitting the defense for a layup as Dartmouth took a 48-43 lead into the locker room thanks to shooting 10-of-15 from downtown.

The second half began in the same manner with the Green ripping off three 3-pointers in the first five minutes, the last being Jackson's career-high fifth, for a 12-point lead. Those would turn out to be their last long balls as they turned to Knight, who scored 13 of his 19 points in the final nine minutes.

Loyola whittled that lead back down to one with still 10 minutes left on a Holcombe dunk, and the difference remained between one and five points the rest of the way.

Both team shot just under 50 percent from the floor with Dartmouth 25-of-51 (.490) and Loyola 31-of-63 (.492). The Big Green held the advantage from deep as the Greyhounds were just 5-of-14 (.357) on 3-pointers, as well as at the line by hitting 19-of-23 (.826) to Loyola's 13-of-20 (.650). On the glass, the Greyhounds boasted a 35-27 edge, including 13 offensive boards.

Champion hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds to give him a double-double, while Knight led the Big Green with eight caroms and Jackson had seven.

Dartmouth returns to Hanover to take on Division III Elms College on Tuesday in a game that will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Eric Berry and Dave Faucher calling the action at 7 p.m. Fans can also listen to Brett Franklin and Bill Murphy describe the contest on 94 ESPN Radio (94.3 and 94.5 FM) in the Upper Valley or around the world online at 945espn.com.

Notes: Dartmouth is 50-for-101 (.495) behind the arc through three games this season, with Barry the most accurate at 70 percent (14-of-20) … Foye isn't far behind Barry at 8-for-12 (.667), nor is Sistare at 9-for-14 (.643) … the Big Green are 2-1 to start the season for the first time since 2013-14 … Smith was 4-for-4 at the line and has not missed a free throw since Feb. 24, 2017; he has converted 24 in a row since (he played in just three games last year due to an injury).