Gutsy Effort Falls Short at UMass, 68-57

Tuesday, December 20

Amherst, Mass. / Mullins Center

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

4-10,0-0Ivy League

UMass

9-3,0-0Atlantic 10

Dartmouth

Massachusetts

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

12/20/2022 10:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

With the score tied at 50, the Minutemen used a 15-2 run to pull away

By: Justin Lafleur

AMHERST, Mass. — Playing short four starters and five rotational players, the Dartmouth men's basketball team led UMass deep into the second half, but the Minutemen outscored the Big Green, 33-12, over the game's final 13:31 to turn a 10-point Dartmouth lead into a 68-57 Minutemen victory on Tuesday night at the Mullins Center. Junior Jaren Johnson led the Big Green offense with a career-high 13 points, marking his third straight game setting or tying a career high. Ten of the 11 Big Green players who saw action scored at least one point.

With the loss, Dartmouth falls to 4-10 while UMass improves to 9-3.

"Really proud of our guys," said head coach David McLaughlin. "I said to them after in the locker room there's a saying; when there's no wind and you're in a boat, you have to row and I thought our guys did. We faced some adverse situations with some guys not being able to travel, multiple starters. That's a lot. We had guys who worked and played hard and really, really stepped up."

Junior Robert McRae III scored nine points while freshman Jayden Williams added eight and senior Nate Ogbu scored seven, to go with four rebounds. Sophomore Connor Christensen posted career highs in points (6) and rebounds (4), knocking down a pair of big 3-pointers.

"The other thing I said to the guys in the locker room was you never know when your opportunity is going to come, so you have to prepare," said McLaughlin. "Whether it's basketball, whether it's academics, whether it's life, you have to prepare every day for the opportunity and those guys took advantage of their opportunity tonight."

T.J. Weeks Jr. led the Minutemen with a game-high 19 points.

After UMass scored on its first three possessions, Dartmouth responded with seven of the next nine to pull within 8-7 following an Izaiah Robinson 3-pointer exactly five minutes into the game.

Most of the half saw neither side leading by more than four and multiple ties — at 13, 14, 16 and 18. After the Big Green trailed 18-16, they staged a 16-4 run, which included a nifty spin move and finish by senior Paul Hudson on a second-chance opportunity, a McRae III 3-pointer following a Christensen offensive rebound and a Christensen 3-pointer which put Dartmouth ahead, 29-20 with 2:13 left in the first half.

🌀 Paul Hudson broke out the spin move and tremendous finish in tonight's game at UMass! 🌀 #TheWoods🌲| #GoBigGreen | #SCTop10 | @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/1kORFZ5jOt
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 21, 2022

What a sequence this was! From Paul Hudson's block on one end to Connor Christensen's three on the other to make it a 13-2 Big Green run in the first.

📺: @NESN & @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/TpUac4B1RM
📊: https://t.co/0eoPdyZ8Bi #TheWoods🌲| #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/tmNe4zuDnb
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 21, 2022

The Big Green lead reached 10 on two occasions, including after a Williams 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining, but Matt Cross knocked down a three on the other end to pull the Minutemen within 35-28 at the half.

Dartmouth enjoyed a strong start to the second half, as 3-pointers from Ogbu and Christensen put the Big Green in front by 10 (42-32 then 45-35). UMass responded with an 11-1 run, as two Weeks Jr. 3-pointers in the span of 47 seconds knotted the score at 46 with 10:03 on the second-half clock. It marked the game's first tie since 18-18.

15:49 2nd | Nate Ogbu 3-pointer gives the Big Green a 42-32 lead at UMass!

📺: @NESN & @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/TpUac4B1RM
📊: https://t.co/0eoPdyZ8Bi #TheWoods🌲| #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/CUfyD3nRmw
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 21, 2022

UMass extended its run to 15-1 to take a four-point lead, 50-46. Four consecutive Big Green points pulled them even at 50, but another big Minutemen run — this time 15-2 — gave UMass a 65-52 lead, on the way to the 68-57 final.

For the game, the Big Green shot 31.5 percent from the floor (17-of-54), including 35.0 percent from 3-point range (7-of-20). UMass finished at 35.0 percent (21-of-60) and 26.9 percent from behind the arc (7-of-26). The Big Green shot 59.3 percent from the free throw line (16-of-27) while the Minutemen came in at 67.9 percent (19-of-28).

Following the Christmas holiday, Dartmouth returns to the floor next Thursday, Dec. 29 when it hosts in-state rival New Hampshire at 7 p.m. in Leede Arena.

We caught up with head coach David McLaughlin following tonight's gutsy effort that fell just short at UMass.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/DhElRmGnmK
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 21, 2022