HANOVER — The Dartmouth College men’s basketball team closed out nonconference play with a 77-68 loss to Vermont on Thursday night at Leede Arena in front of 1,800 fans.
Vermont has now won the last 12 games in the series and 20 of the last 21. The loss stretched the Big Green’s losing streak to three; they’re now 7-8 on the season.
Aaryn Rai scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Dartmouth. Chris Knight added 17 points but was 3-of-9 from the free-throw line.
The Catamounts took a lead with 19:03 to play and never lost it again.
Within five minutes of each other, four technicals were given out in the second half. Ian Sistare got in Everett Duncan’s face at the free-throw line. Then Vermont coach John Becker, who had been talking to officials all game, got T’d up.
The final two came with 7:06 remaining near mid-court as Rai and Vermont’s Stef Smith had to be separated.
The Big Green held the Catamounts’ lead scorer, Anthony Lamb, to just 10 points on 5-of-11 of shooting.
Dartmouth was 14-of-22 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over 17 times. Still, the Big Green saw a bump in bench points (14) and rebounded from Monday’s terrible shooting day to finish 24-45 (53.3%) from the field.
Vermont and Dartmouth were tied, 40-40, at the half. The Big Green had jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the first five minutes of play before the Catamounts’ offense started to chip at the deficit.
Stef Smith’s four-point play with 7:17 to play before the break gave the Catamounts a 24-21 lead, their first lead of the day. Dartmouth knocked down six 3-pointers in the first half and shot over 60% from the field.
The Big Green are off until they visit Harvard on Jan. 18 to open Ivy League play.
— Pete Nakos
THETFORD — The Panthers (4-1) outpaced the Wildcats in advance of a matchup on Saturday against rival Windsor.
Thetford had 10 different scorers, with no single player reaching double digits. Emi Vaughan and Grace Davis each had nine points. Casey MacVeagh added eight points and Emma Colby had seven. The Panthers built a 26-8 lead at halftime.
“We didn’t play our best game; still in vacation mode,” Thetford coach Eric Ward said. “The girls were looking past this one a bit to Saturday. We’ll just have to play a little bit better against Windsor.”
Saturday’s matchup between the Panthers and Yellowjackets, in Thetford, will be the second game between the rival schools this season. Windsor edged Thetford, 53-50, in Windsor on Dec. 21. The teams also played in last season’s VPA Division III semifinals, a game won by Thetford on its way to the state title.
Hannah White had six points to lead White River Valley. The Wildcats (2-2) visit Northfield on Wednesday.
WINDSOR — The Yellowjackets got 26 points from Olivia Rockwood and won their fifth straight game to start the season.
Ten different players scored at least a field goal for Windsor. Reese Perry added 11 points, Angelina Bigwood had 10 points and Peyton Richardson had eight points. Rockwood made four 3-pointers on her way to her team-topping tally.
“Everybody got a lot of minutes. We did a good job making that extra pass and played really solid defense,” Windsor coach Bruce Mackay said.
Lara Tarleton had six points for Woodstock (1-2), which will host Fair Haven on Friday.
Windsor (5-0) gets a tough matchup on Saturday at Thetford.
PLAINFIELD, Vt. — Melanie Neil scored all seven of her points in a 17-0 third quarter that propeled the Olympians to a lopsided road victory.
The O’s (3-1) held the Trojans to just eight first-half points before their post-halftime eruption. Emma Parkin had eight of her game-high 13 points in the opening half for Oxbow, which held a 23-8 lead at the break.
Emma DeGoosh had 10 points, Chloe McIntire contributed eight and Arianna Bolles netted seven for Oxbow, which has won three straight.
WOODSTOCK — The shorthanded Wasps (1-5) battled back from a dismal first quarter to play the Minutemen tough for the duration.
“They showed me a lot of heart tonight,” Woodstock coach Tom Avellino said. “We’re a young team. We were missing three starters and had guys filling in roles they wouldn’t normally play. Once we settled down, I was really proud of the effort.”
Harrison Morse had 26 points to lead Woodstock and Ryan Ducharme added 13 points. Woodstock trailed, 25-9, after the first quarter but rallied to outscore the Minutemen, 16-9, in the second.
The Wasps will host Randolph on Tuesday.
STOWE, Vt. — The Hurricanes held a 21-17 lead at halftime and then couldn’t keep pace in a high-scoring second half.
Alex Bushway had five 3-pointers and 16 points to lead Hartford. Dylan Morse added 14 points. Danny Bushway chipped in six points. Stowe scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to steal the win.
The Canes (3-3 overall, 1-3 VPA) will hit the road on Saturday, traveling south to play the UCAP School in Providence, R.I., for a girls-boys doubleheader.
DOVER, N.H. — The Raiders (2-2-0) were unable to overcome a slow start against the Saints.
“It took us a while to get our legs and get going,” coach Mike Sheehan said. “We were really on our heels for the first two periods.”
The Raiders found their stride in the third period, killing a penalty to start the final frame before rallying with a Lena Nowell goal six minutes in. Makayla Maccioli and Mackayla O’Meara each had assists.
The Raiders dominated play for the final 10 minutes of the game, according to Sheehan.
STA-Winnacunnet held a 1-0 lead after one period, stretching it to 3-0 by the second intermission.
Goalie Paige Hoegler made 21 saves for the Raiders, who play at Berlin on Saturday.