Hanover
The answer came on Saturday in a 74-71 defeat of Pennsylvania at Leede Arena. Dartmouth knocked down a dozen 3-point shots, including five by junior Miles Wright, who had 19 points. The Big Green also held a 37-25 rebounding advantage and had a season-best 17 assists on 26 baskets.
“I’m just happy for the guys because we had a good week of practice while in midterms,” said first-year coach David McLaughlin, whose team improved to 4-15 overall and 1-5 in Ivy League play. “We had the lead for over 30 minutes last night (against Princeton) and bounced back well on short rest.”
Dartmouth workhorse Evan Boudreaux produced 18 points and 11 rebounds, with three assists and one turnover. The sophomore forward played 38 minutes and picked up only two fouls despite continually banging, wrestling and leaping in traffic.
“I honestly can’t say enough good things about him,” McLaughlin said. “He’s grasped how important it is for us to play through him, and he takes pride in that and makes good decisions. Especially given that you don’t have enough room on two hands to count how many different defenses we see with him in there.”
Wright, a portrait in inconsistency who’s had eight double-digit scoring outings this season but also six contests with seven or fewer points, had seven rebounds and made seven of 12 field-goal attempts. He was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Ian Sistaire had eight points, and Taylor Johnson had seven for the Big Green.
“We know that we got ourselves in a little bit of a hole with a slow start to the conference season,” said senior point guard Mike Fleming, who had no points but played 31 minutes nonetheless. “We’re very fortunate to have a coaching staff that doesn’t give up on us, and that gives us confidence. I think that shows how much character the whole program has.”
Penn (7-11, 0-5) now faces an even more difficult road to reach the Ivy League’s inaugural postseason tournament. The four-team affair will be staged next month at the Palestra, the Quakers’ historic home court. Darnell Foreman led the visitors with 15 points. Guard Matt Howard, usually a standout, managed only four points while playing sick.
Dartmouth was up, 33-31, at halftime before pushing its lead to 14 points just 2 minutes, 22 seconds into the second stanza. The hosts led by that much again with 11 minutes to play, but saw Penn pull within 62-60 with 3:37 on the clock. Wright answered with back-to-back 3-point buckets, each assisted by Guilien Smith, and Boudreaux popped in a 2-point basket for a five-point lead with 1:39 to go.
“We know what he’s capable of on any given night,” Fleming said of Wright, who won the Ivy League rookie of the year award as a freshman, followed last year by Boudreaux. “Once he sees a couple shots go in early, the rim gets a little bit bigger for him.”
Said McLaughlin: “Miles saw a zone defense tonight, and he didn’t force anything. When he makes simple plays, his talent and athleticism take over. He made five 3-pointers tonight with no dribbles. Just catch and shoot.”
Fleming is averaging just 3.6 points but also 23.4 minutes per game. Since joining the starting lineup in December, he’s had 31 assists and seven turnovers. The suburban Chicago native’s sophomore season ended early because of disciplinary issues, but he’s bounced back to earn McLaughlin’s trust at a position where Dartmouth is sorely lacking.
“I didn’t even realize he was scoreless,” the coach said, glancing at the box score. “He gets us into the offense, and he’s a communicator on defense. He brings it every day in practice, and I think he’s a great example of someone learning and making the most of an opportunity he won’t let go.”
Harvard, the Ivy League’s fourth-place team last year, was only 6-8 in Ancient Eight play, so don’t count the Big Green out of the league tournament just yet. The road won’t be easy, however. Dartmouth visits Yale and Brown next weekend, hosts Cornell, Columbia, Brown and Yale and ends the regular season at Penn and Princeton. The program is 8-20 at opposing league venues the past four years.
“Hopefully, we can make some noise,” Fleming said.
Notes: Referees Art Vaulk, Harkeem Dixon and Joseph Brogan struggled mightily during the second half. Four or five times, the trio huddled or went to the video monitor for extended periods of time. One such delay lasted nearly five minutes, causing an announced crowd of 951 to grow restless and issue catcalls. … Dartmouth made 53.8 percent of its field-goal attempts during the second half and 46.4 percent during the game. The Big Green also sank 10 of 14 free throws, while Penn was only 13-of-21. … The lead changed hands 11 times. … The Big Green has won five of its last eight meetings with the Quakers, including four in a row at Leede Arena. … Fleming had never made more than two field goals in a game before Friday’s loss, during which he sank five. His 11 points against Princeton was a career high. … The last time Dartmouth made a dozen treys was in 2014 against Cornell. … Dartmouth had just three second-chance points despite grabbing 13 rebounds. … Since the 3-point line was instituted for NCAA Division I games during the 1986-87 season, three teams have made at least one such shot in every game: Princeton, Vanderbilt and Nevada-Las Vegas.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.