Non-Conference Slate Ends with 73-59 Defeat at Vermont

Wednesday, January 2

Burlington, Vt.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

9-7

Vermont

10-4

Dartmouth

Vermont

Chris Knight takes aim against Vermont on Wednesday night.

Photo by: Dustin Parker

Non-Conference Slate Ends with 73-59 Defeat at Vermont

1/2/2019 8:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Chris Knight scored 19 points in the loss to the Catamounts

By: Rick Bender

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Sophomore Chris Knight recorded his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Dartmouth, but Anthony Lamb had one of his own for host Vermont with 21 points and 14 boards as the Catamounts dispatched of the Big Green on Wednesday evening in front of 2,542 fans at Patrick Gymnasium, 73-59.

Lamb, who hit 9-of-14 field goals in reaching the 1,000-point milestone, also added six blocks for Vermont (10-4), but it was Isaiah Moll's 12 straight points late in the second half that kept Dartmouth (9-7) at bay. Moll finished the night with 18 points , and Ben Shungu added 10 off the bench for the Catamounts.

Knight worked hard for his 19 points with eight field goals in 24 attempts, plus added a pair of assists and three blocks. Junior Brendan Barry provided 13 points on 3-of-7 from behind the arc and classmate Ian Sistare contributed 11 points with a pair of triples and seven rebounds.

Vermont jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first three minutes and never trailed, though Dartmouth did tie the score three times in the first half, twice on 3-pointers by Sistare. The second of those triples knotted the score with 10 minutes on the clock before Robin Duncan and Knight traded baskets, leaving the score knotted at 22.

The next four minutes belonged to the Catamounts as they ran off eight straight points, including Lamb's 1000th career point. Knight ended the drought with a pair of free throws and a lefty layup to cut the Big Green deficit down to four at 30-26 before Moll scored the next four and Lamb added another basket for a 10-point Vermont advantage. Junior James Foye allowed Dartmouth to go into the locker room trailing by single digits, however, thanks to a short jumper high off the glass to make it a 36-28 game at the intermission.

Vermont shot 70 percent inside the arc over the first 20 minutes (14-of-20), but missed all six shots from the perimeter while going 8-of-11 (.727) at the foul line. Dartmouth, meanwhile, struggled to find a consistent shot, going 11-of-35 (.314) from the floor, but did hit a trio of triples and was just 3-of-4 at the charity stripe.

The Big Green defense clamped down in the second half, holding the Catamounts to just 39.3 percent shooting from the floor (11-of-28). But Vermont managed to build its lead up to a dozen early in the stanza, 44-32, on a Stef Smith 3-point play.

Dartmouth clawed its way back as Sistare got three points the hard way, Barry drove the baseline for a reverse layup and followed that up with a 3-pointer to close the gap to four at 46-42. Lamb answered back with a bucket and a foul shot, but Foye got the points back with a corner trey, keeping the Green with four with 12 minutes to play.

The score was 51-45 when Moll began his one-man scoring show, boosting the Vermont lead to nine during his 12-point streak, 63-54. Shungu scored in the paint with 1:22 to play to extend the lead to 11, and the Catamounts hit 8-of-10 foul shots down the stretch the seal the victory.

Vermont overcame a 1-for-14 performance from the perimeter by shooting 46.3 percent overall (25-of-54) and 60 percent inside the arc, not to mention 73.3 percent (22-of-30) at the foul line.

The Big Green ended the night shooting a season-low 34.8 percent (24-of-69) from the floor, and slightly better from distance (7-of-20, .350). But the team went to the line just six times all night, hitting four free throws. Both teams had 39 rebounds with Dartmouth gathering 16 at the offensive end.

Dartmouth will begin conference play when Ivy League foe Harvard comes to Hanover on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on NESNplus and streamed live on ESPN+ with Bob Lipman and Eric Berry calling the action. Fans will also be able to listen to the game locally on KOOL FM (106.7 FM in Hanover, 96.3 FM in Walpole and 106.5 FM in Keene) or online at koolnh.com with Brett Franklin and Bill Murphy on the call.

Notes: Vermont has won 11 straight in the series, but Dartmouth still leads all-time, 57-46 … the Big Green finish the slate outside of the Ivy League with a program-record-tying nine non-conference regular-season wins.