Dartmouth wins its first Ivy game of the season

Brown
The Bears also had a lackluster outing against their Ivy opponents. In its first game, Brown fell behind by Harvard’s 20-0 run in the first half. The upside to Brown’s 69-42 loss to the Crimson was the return of sophomore guard Sean McGonagill, the team’s top scorer. In his first game back, the sophomore posted 11 points for Brown. The Bears traveled to Dartmouth next, and the teams were evenly matched. The home team trailed for most of the first half, but it overcame deficits three times to gain the 58-53 win over Brown.

Cornell
It was a disappointing weekend for the Big Red. In its game against Penn, the Big Red was unable to limit its turnovers. Cornell gave the ball up 10 times over the first 20 minutes of the game. The Big Red led by six points in the second half, but after 11 lead changes and 10 ties, the team fell 66-73. After the close game against Penn, Cornell went to visit the Tigers. Princeton shot 69 percent from the floor and dominated on the glass, leading it to a 75-57 victory over the Big Red.

Dartmouth
Despite Dartmouth’s best efforts, Yale handed the Big Green its 20th straight league loss. Freshmen forwards Gabas Maldunas and Jvonte Brooks both aided their team by posting 23 and 14 points, respectively, but that wasn’t enough to help raise their team from the bottom of the Ivy League standings. They fell to the Bulldogs 70-61. It was not an entirely lost weekend for the home team, though. Dartmouth posted its first league victory of the season against the Bears, 58-53. The win came in the last seven minutes of play when the Big Green outshot Brown 15-3. This win also broke Dartmouth’s 20-game losing streak in conference play.

Harvard
The Crimson posted wins against Brown and Yale this weekend for their 26th and 27th straight home wins. In its first game, Harvard posted a 69-42 win against Brown, with senior forward Keith Wright earning his fifth double-double of the season. The team maintained a consistent dominance over the Bears throughout the first half, shooting nearly 64 percent from the field. Brown quickly closed the gap to 16 at the beginning of the second half, but that proved to be insufficient against Harvard’s 32-point second half. Yale proved to be a slightly more challenging opponent, keeping the Crimson to shooting just 57 percent in the first half. Junior guard Brandyn Curry led his team to a 66-51 win with 18 points and five assists.

Penn
Senior guard Zack Rosen had something to prove for the Tigers this weekend, leading his team to victory over Cornell, 73-66. The Quakers were trailing 59-55 late in the game, and in the last 11 minutes, Rosen took control. In the last 26 points of the game, he scored 17 and assisted in the other nine. The next night, Penn forced a nail-biter against Columbia. The Lions led 54-53 with less than a minute left in regulation, but Rosen tied the game after sinking one of his free throws. Penn and Columbia went down to the final seconds in overtime as well. After junior Brian Barbour tied it 59-59, the Quakers’ sophomore Fran Dougherty sank in the winning shot with less than three seconds left.

Princeton
The Tigers and the Lions played a back-and-forth game this weekend. The two teams traded the lead nine times and moved past nine ties before the stalemate was broken late in the second half. With less than nine minutes left in play, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run which gave them the 51-42 lead. Columbia stayed behind for the rest of the game, and fell 77-66. In its fourth straight Ivy win, Princeton beat Cornell, 75-57. Sophomore guard T.J. Bray was one of four Tigers who scored double-double digits, aiding his team to victory.

Yale
Although Dartmouth’s record places it last in the Ivy League, the Big Green still gave the Bulldogs some trouble. Free throws were a large part of Yale’s 70-61 victory over Dartmouth. The Bulldogs had 33 free throw attempts in the game—the third most attempts for the team this season. After the win against Dartmouth, Yale went on to face Harvard. Senior center Greg Mangano had a big game with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but ultimately that was not enough to overcome Harvard. Yale fell 66-51.