Men's Basketball Pulls One Out Over Vermont

Tuesday, November 27

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

3-3

VERMONT

2-4

Vermont

Dartmouth

11/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Box Score

HANOVER, N.H. -- This time the Dartmouth men's basketball team wasn't going to be denied.

Trailing by eight points with less than six minutes remaining Tuesday, the Big Green snapped an eight-game losing streak against Vermont when Robby Pride broke free down the left side of the lane for a layup and his only points of the night with 7.6 seconds left to give his team a 76-75 win.

Dartmouth, which hadn't beaten the Catamounts (2-4) since Dec. 18, 1998, improved to 3-3 with its second win in a row behind a career-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks from forward Alex Barnett.

Marqus Blakely almost matched Barnett with 23 points and 10 rebounds for Vermont, which fell to 2-4.

"This game shows us what belief means," Dartmouth coach Terry Dunn said. "Belief in each other, the staff and the system. We're coming together as a team. We were so close at Rutgers (a 55-50 loss) and we talked after that game about coming out every game with the same effort and the same belief, and the last two games they have."

Trailing 65-57 with 5:52 left, the Big Green went on a 12-2 run triggered by a Barnett rebound and putback and capped by a Michael Giovacchini triple that gave Dartmouth a 69-67 lead with 3:14 left.

A Barnett jumper and free throw gave the Big Green a 74-71 lead with 1:48 remaining before Mike Trimboli went four-for-four from the free throw line on back-to-back trips up the court to resurrect a 75-74 Vermont lead with 54 seconds showing.

After Giovacchini's 3-point try for the lead with 26 seconds showing kicked off the rim the Catamounts rebounded and were awarded a pair of free throws when Barnett fouled Nick Vier with 20.3 seconds left.

With a chance to boost the margin to three points, Vier's first shot kicked off the rim and he also missed the second. Kyle Cieplicki rebounded for Vermont, but the Catamounts lost possession when Blakely was called for a foul on the play.

Dartmouth brought the ball up the court and Pride came open for a left-handed layup that gave the Big Green the dramatic win.

Barnett's double-double was his second of the season. DeVon Mosley added 17 points for Dartmouth, which got eight points each from Giovacchini and center John Marciano.

"Alex was just tremendous," said Dunn. "He's been double-teamed and triple-teamed and still has been close to double-doubles in the last three games. Other guys are stepping up like DeVon Mosley, Robby Pride, Mike Giovacchini and Elgin Fitzgerald. Brandon Ware has done a super job running our team and freshman John Marciano came in and did a nice job. It was a terrific team effort."

Blakely was joined in double figures for Vermont by Trimboli with 19 points, Kyle Cieplicki with 14 and Colin McIntosh with 10.

Dartmouth returns to action at Stony Brook on Saturday afternoon.