Three-Game Win Streak Comes to a Halt in Loss at Vermont

Wednesday, December 1

Burlington, Vt. / Patrick Gymnasium

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

3-2,0-0Ivy League

Vermont

6-3,0-0America East

Dartmouth

Vermont

Aaryn Rai

Photo by: Mitchell Layton

Three-Game Win Streak Comes to a Halt in Loss at Vermont

12/1/2021 8:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Aaryn Rai had 20 points in the 83-65 defeat

By: Rick Bender

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Dartmouth fifth-year senior Aaryn Rai put up a season-high 20 points, 18 in the second half, but host Vermont jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and never looked back in snapping the Big Green's three-game win streak at Patrick Gymnasium on Wednesday evening, 83-65. Six players scored in double figures for the Catamounts (6-3), led by Ryan Davis with 16 points, dropping Dartmouth to 3-2 on the season.

Vermont had struggled all season from the perimeter, shooting just 25 percent behind the arc entering the game, but the shots started to fall against the Green as the Catamounts hit 8-of-20 (.400) from downtown and a robust 30-of-53 (.566) overall. While Dartmouth was able to keep up from long range, hitting 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from distance, it had trouble with Vermont's size inside, shooting 39.3 percent (22-of-56) on all field goal attempts.

Much like Sunday's game at Bryant, Dartmouth quickly fell behind by a 10-0 margin before calling a timeout. The Big Green quickly cut the deficit in half, but Vermont would not be slowed on the offensive end, scoring on four straight possessions to counter a Brendan Barry 3-pointer to boost its lead back to double digits at 18-8.

Garrison Wade got into the scoring act with a pair of free throws and a breakaway layup before the Catamounts rattled off 11 straight points. Six of those points came from Ben Shungu and the final three courtesy of a Finn Sullivan long ball — one of three for him on the night — to give Vermont a 29-12 advantage.

Over the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza, the Big Green hit just four field goals, but all four were from the perimeter with Wade providing the last two, giving him a team-high 10 points at the break. Five of the last nine UVM points of the stanza came from the foul line as the hosts went into the locker room with a 38-24 lead thanks to shooting 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the floor while hitting 9-of-10 free throws.

The two sides traded buckets for the first four minutes of the second half before the Big Green went on a modest six-point run on a Rai three-point play and Wade's third trifecta, closing the gap back at an even 10 points, 47-37, with 15 minutes to play. But Dartmouth could never get the deficit down to single digits as Vermont reserve guard Kam Gibson scored the next 10 points for his team to counter two Rai free throws and an Izaiah Robinson trey.

With the Catamounts enjoying a 16-point lead, 64-48, with under nine minutes to go, the Big Green committed five fouls in a 70-second span, which allowed Vermont to add to its bulge at 19 with three free throws. The 6-8, 250-pound Davis then went to work down low, scoring a handful of buckets on the blocks, the last of which started a three-point play to give the Catamounts a 22-point lead at 78-56.

The difference was 23 with a minute left following the final Vermont long ball, but Robert McRae III drilled the 10th Big Green 3-pointer — making it four straight games with 10 or more — and Dusan Neskovic added a layup in the final seconds to finish the scoring on the night.

Rai ended the night 6-of-12 from the floor with a triple and a perfect 7-of-7 at the foul line to account for his 20 points, and he led the team with nine rebounds and a trio of steals as well. Wade chipped in 13 points to tie a career high on the strength of 3-of-6 from downtown.

All five Vermont starters, along with Gibson off the bench hit at least half of their field goal attempts to score in double figures. Sullivan and Shungu each had 13, Isaiah Powell added 11 and Justin Mazzulla and Gibson chipped in 10 apiece. Davis led the rebounding effort with eight boards, and after Vermont turned the ball over six times in the first half, it coughed the ball up just once after the intermission.

Dartmouth completes a three-game road swing on Saturday when it travels to Florida Gulf Coast (6-3), which had a five-game win streak snapped tonight by Florida International, 77-61. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tips off at 7 p.m.

Notes: Vermont has won 13 straight in the series and 21 of the last 22 meetings … this is the fourth time Dartmouth has ever had four straight games with double-digit 3-pointers, last accomplishing the feat in the 2019-20 season … the longest such stretch is six games in February of 2002.