Dartmouth Stalls at Home

By Christian Hummel | Wednesday, February 11, 1998

They really are that good. The Princeton University men's basketball (18-1, 6-0 Ivy) team showed why they were ranked in the national top 10 after they decimated the Dartmouth basketball team (6-14, 3-5 Ivy) 71-39. The loss marked the end of a three game winning streak for Dartmouth.

The game was owned by Princeton from the opening tip as the Tigers ran to an 8-0 start. Shaun Gee '00 scored the first points for Dartmouth with a free-throw seven minutes into the game. The Tigers would maintain a double-digit lead from the ten minute mark on and ended the first half of play up 43-19.

Both benches saw a lot of playing time and reserve Brian Laibow '00 ran the point, getting eight points in nine minutes of playing time. As for the Tigers, three of their starters, James Mastaglio, Steve Goodrich, and Brian Earl, made all of their shots. The first half ended with Princeton playing five reserves.

On Sunday, the sportswriters deemed the Princeton performance convincing enough to bump the Tigers up to number nine in the college hoops rankings.

The following day, Dartmouth played host to another perennial Ivy League power, the Quakers of the University of Pennsylvania.

Considering the performance of the previous evening many were curious how the team would respond. The team started off slowly once again and learned first-hand why the Quakers were ranked fourth nationally in shooting percentage.

Three-pointers by Gee and Greg Buth '01 kept the team alive but it wouldn't be enough as the Quakers stayed ahead by ten at the end of the first half.

The second-half went much better. P.J. Halas '98 was 5-7 in shooting and nailed a three to bring the team to within three at the 12:57 mark. But that would be as close as Dartmouth would get. Penn pulled away and Dartmouth made too many mistakes. The final score of 71-57 reflected a strong Penn run towards the end of the game to seal the win.

This weekend proved to be very difficult for Dartmouth. The combination of the two losses seem to have moved the squad out of contention for an Ivy title.

This coming weekend the team faces Columbia and Cornell, two schools which have already beat Dartmouth this season.

'Well we played two very good basketball teams, and we just didn't make the plays we needed to make.... It's time to regroup and focus on this next weekend,' said Gee.

Hockey

The Dartmouth men's hockey team (9-9-3, 5-8-1 ECAC) on the other hand had a bit more successful weekend. Dartmouth came away with one win from a tough road-trip against St. Lawrence and Clarkson.

The weekend started off well with a 5-2 win over St. Lawrence. Shane Ness '98 got three assists and Eric Almon '00 recorded his second win of the season over St. Lawrence in net.

The following day marked the fourth consecutive road game for the team. They started off well by tallying a goal early in the second period. But Clarkson responded with five unanswered goals to make the final score 5-1.

Women's Basketball

Dartmouth beat Princeton in basketball this weekend! No, it wasn't the number-nine ranked men's team — rather it was the women's team that found success.

Starting out in a manner strikingly different their male counterparts, the women ran to a 11-0 en route to a 40-29 half-time margin.

The Tigers wouldn't back down and eventually got to within three. Even though they did not score a field-goal in the last five minutes of play, Dartmouth would end their visit to New Jersey with a 72-68 win.

Katie O'Connor '99 would tie a career-best with 16 points. Other highlights included nine rebounds and 16 points by Erin Rewalt '99 and eleven assists by Nicci Rinaldi '99.

However, the women seem to have been stricken by the same virus of inconcsistent play which has afflicted the men's team. The next day's game against Penn resulted in a 62-54 loss.

This year's team has featured some outstanding play by several freshmen including Sherryta Freeman '01 and Samantha Berkinda '01, but even their talent couldn't stop the Quakers from holding onto a strong lead built in the first half. Despite closing to within four points with five minutes left, Dartmouth could not buy a basket and ended the game down eight.

The weekend brought the team's record to 10-9 (4-3 Ivy) and in a strong position to make a run for the Ivy crown. They face the top three Ivy teams of Harvard, Princeton, and Penn once again each — allowing for the chance for a title.

Dartmouth Stalls at Home

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