For a few brief, tantalizing moments in last night's 87-82 loss to the University of Vermont, the men's basketball team showed the world on the floor of Leede Arena a few glimpses of the future.
Sea Lonergan '97 scored 20 and was perfect in three tries from three-point land. Brian Gilpin '97 positively abused Vermont inside for stretches of the second half and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Chris Butler '97 swished a three-pointer that Vermont coach Tom Brennan described as a "back-breaker."
But, in the end, the present - that very current piece of the time-space continuum in which the Big Green are young, 1-11 and on a nine-game losing streak - caught up with the team.
The Big Green stayed close to Vermont in an explosive contest that featured numerous eight and 10-point bursts for both teams, but could not counter the Cats' Eddie Benton, who piled up 39 points for his fourth-straight 30-point game.
Benton, who is among the top 10 in the nation in scoring, hit 10 of 11 free throws and buried five treys to lead a three-point barrage that saw the two teams combine for 21 buckets and a 53 percent accuracy rating from beyond the three-point arc.
Dartmouth got as close as 83-82 with 39 seconds on the clock when Gregg Frame '94 - who finished the game with a monstrous 24 points and 10 assists - hit a leaning bank shot that somehow rattled into the hoop.
After Vermont in-bounded the ball, Wilfredo Castillo '94 fouled Bernie Cieplicki, who missed his free throw. Dartmouth rebounded and had the fate of the game in its hands with 20 seconds to play.
But fate took a walk towards the visitors - literally. Vermont guard Scott Reed badly overplayed Lonergan as he set up to take a three-pointer. Reed got help from a teammate, but that left Jacob Capps all alone with nothing but 15 feet of empty baseline between him and a potential game-winning basket.
Lonergan fired the ball to Capps, who took one step too many and was called for traveling.
The Big Green wasted little time fouling Reed, in hopes that the Vermont senior would repeat the charity stripe choke that led to Frame's basket. Instead, Reed ripped the net on both shots, giving Vermont a three-point edge with 19 seconds left, a hefty chunks of time.
But the chunk kept shrinking as Vermont tightly defended the three-point arc. With six seconds on the clock, Lonergan drove inside and heaved a desperate brick that skidded harmlessly off the glass.
Vermont's Jeremy McCool secured the rebound and was immediately fouled by Gilpin. But McCool, who was as icy at the line as his name, sank both shots to put Vermont up for good.
