With the Big Green Teams
BOUNCING back from what turned out to be a long, cold holiday recess, Big Green teams started the new year off with some exciting and impressive victories on all fronts.
Coach Dave Gavitt's varsity five found the Southland uninviting on the court as they went winless in five vacation contests. The Indians opened in New Orleans against favored Tulane, and had the makings of an upset until the Green Wave got sharp under the basket. Dartmouth could not match the Tulane marksmen from the floor. Even with sophomore forward Alex Winn starting to show his form of last year by scoring 25 points for the Green, the team bowed 97-76. Against Jacksonville, a squad that Coach Gavitt had hoped to knock off, poor shooting and the home team's superior height brought about a 69-59 defeat. Worse news was in store for the Indians, however, for Winn, who dropped in 20 points against Jacksonville, suffered a sprained wrist which sidelined him for the remainder of the action down south. For the Big Green, short of high scorers, this loss was particularly damaging.
Next stop for the Indians was the Hurricane Classic at sunny Miami Beach, Fla. Boasting highly rated Santa Clara as pre-tourney favorite, Miami and N.Y.U. as opponent clubs, the Classic appeared a big challenge to the Green. The first round paired Dartmouth with powerful Miami, eventual tournament champions. Captain Joe Colgan returned to full-time action on short notice, to replace the injured Winn. Joe proved that he had not lost his touch during his recent battle with mononucleosis, scoring 27 points in the game and helping the Green chase a worried host club to an exciting, high- scoring 110-91 victory. Meanwhile, favored Santa Clara had an off night, allowing N.Y.U. to win the other first-night honors. As a result Dartmouth found itself pitted against another hot-shooting, strong team in the consolation round. Santa Clara had another long evening, but their high shooting percentage kept them in front of the Indians down to the buzzer, 77-69.
Moving back toward Hanover, Gavitt's squad stopped off at Madison Square Garden in New York for a final road game with Rutgers. Tired from their travels, and missing Winn, the Green could not muster the shooting strength to beat a sluggish Rutgers squad which picked up the pace in the second half to register a 79-52 decision.
Returning home with no wins and eight defeats, having played seven of its first eight contests away, Dartmouth opened its 1968 home season, with little respite, against Princeton. Alumni Gym boasted another good crowd in spite of the slim chance of beating the Tigers. Nevertheless, Dartmouth's much improved defense gave the visitors little opportunity for an easy victory. At the half Dartmouth was down 21-14, and Princeton seemed vulnerable due to their impatience. Not so, however, for the Tigers came out from halftime to play briefly as one would expect the defending Ivy champs to play. They ran up a safer 20-point margin, which they maintained to the finish, winning 59-39. Once again, superior height proved decisive.
The next night, undaunted and high- spirited, the Green proved that it had been possibly the best team with the worst record in the country. Meeting a good Pennsylvania squad in Alumni Gym, the Indians tested the Quakers briefly, and then moved out to a 10-point lead. Powerful rebounder Greg Pickering left the visitors empty-handed in the first half, dominating the boards at both ends of the court. He also had a good night on the scoreboard, matching Colgan in scoring with 13 apiece.
At half time Dartmouth led 30-22, but over-anxious to open the gap, the Indians watched Penn quickly tie the score on a series of accurate outside shots. Cracking down again, the home squad kept a slim edge most of the period. Holding the ball to break a final tie at the buzzer, Joe Colgan drove in for what should have been the winning basket, only to be called for an offensive foul, turning the ball over to the Quakers with one second remaining. Then, in a confused and confusing call, a technical foul was ruled against Coach Gavitt. Still unable to understand the justification for the call, Gavitt watched tensely as Penn's top shot and high scorer, Steve Pearsall, strode onto the court for his one-shot try for victory. Pearsall, who had already netted 17 points to capture scoring honors for the night, missed the foul shot, sending the game into overtime, 54-54.
Both teams seemed to lose interest in the basket, and were intent on slowing the game up in the overtime, holding the ball for long periods without shooting. Following several turnovers with no score, Dartmouth stole the ball with 1:30 left to play. Taking a final time out to calm down and map strategy to end the inaction, the Green put the ball into play with 17 seconds showing on the clock. Penn diagnosed hesitant Indian plans, however, and blocked an attempted play. Captain Colgan turned, drove, and put up a final shot, hitting the rim. With everyone in the air battling for the ball, soph forward Karl Steinmanis tipped in the winning two-pointer on the second bounce, right at the buzzer. It was a most satisfying first victory for the Big Green, giving them a 1-1 Ivy record. More important, however, was the high spirit the team has maintained all season, entering each contest as though fresh from a victory rather than a loss. One cannot say enough about the tremendous drive and dedication present in every member of this year's squad.
Early the next week the Indians traveled to Cambridge for the third Ivy game of the season, against Harvard. The Crimson are not strong this year, but their much-publicized win in the Blue- nose Classic promised to give them some inspiration. Dartmouth, however, with the warm glow of one league victory, was now hunting for one on the road. Dartmouth's traditional flair for a great game against any Harvard squad helped the team overcome Crimson size and strength on the boards. Soph Alex Winn entered the game for a brief time about halfway through the first period and promptly began to bring the Indians close to their hosts with nine quick points. Coming off a 25-24 halftime deficit, Captain Colgan pumped in eleven more in rapid succession to build a 35-29 lead for the Indians. Harvard's talented but so far disappointing defensive specialists kept the game interesting, but could not pull ahead as Colgan ended the scoring with a foul shot at 65-60.
Their 2-1 Ivy record placed the Indians in an unlikely third ranking in the league, their highest standing in several seasons. No one expects that the Green will finish out the season at quite this level, but the promise of last year's freshman squad is being fulfilled more and more, now that the '70s on the team have had time to adjust to varsity action. Another important factor has been the return of Captain Colgan, whose calm experience has been a major factor in keeping the Green close to several of the more talented teams they have faced. Most important, however, and too easily forgotten, is the outstanding job Coach Gavitt has done in molding such a determined and dangerous squad for opponents to face, and in such short order. Home fans saw the kind of advantage that a coach like Dave Gavitt gives his team in the games against Princeton and Penn recently. Both rivals outmanned the Indians in height, shooting, and experience, the Tigers by a wide margin. But Tigers and Quakers alike became unnerved against the cagey Green offense, and its multiple defenses. No team was more evenly paced or better equipped to take advantage of an opponent's weaknesses.
Center Jud Burnham (21) adding a point to Dartmouth's total in the 56-54 win overPenn. Capt. Joe Colgan (30) and Greg Pickering (31) are also shown.
Kent Nyberg '70 of Coleraine, Minn., isthe Big Green's leading scorer so far thisseason. He was named to the ECACTournament first team in December.
