When the crowd rose to its feet in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s senior night game against Cornell University, filling Leede Arena with applause, it was not because of an and-one, a three-pointer or a powerful dunk. Tyler Melville ’14, the team’s captain and its only senior, checked out for the last time in front of loyal Hanover fans. Cheers echoed through the building as Melville slowly walked down the row of chairs to his seat, receiving hugs from each member of the coaching staff and the players on the bench.
“He has been the epitome of what a student athlete has to do,” said head coach Paul Cormier. “He gave us some stability and a good example of how if you fight through things and keep plugging, good things will happen.”
Melville’s final night also marked the end of a long drought for the Big Green (10-16, 3-9 Ivy), as the squad topped Cornell (2-24, 1-11 Ivy), 87-78 to snap a seven-game skid. Though Melville himself had 10 points and five assists, it was Alex Mitola ’16 who was the star on the court for Dartmouth, putting on an eye-popping offensive show with 33 points on an efficient 10-16 shooting. Kevin Crescenzi ’16 added 17 points and four boards.
Mitola came out firing on all cylinders against the Big Red, knocking in two threes on back-to-back possessions to start the game and set the tone for his teammates. Cornell was quick to respond, though, as the game developed into a full-on shootout.
Neither side gained more than a few points on the other for most of the first half. Toward the end of the period, though, Melville sparked a mini-run with a tough three-point play. Crescenzi followed with a pretty three-pointer, and Matt Rennie ’16 muscled his way to the foul-line, dropping in a pair of free throws to push Dartmouth’s advantage to six heading into the locker room.
This proved to be crucial, as Cornell would not regain the lead for the entire second half. Mitola quickly piled on the points out of the gate, hitting a three-pointer, a layup and then another three-pointer to bring the score to 44-32 in the blink of an eye. Cornell responded with a 9-0 run, mostly on free throws, but Dartmouth rallied with an 8-2 charge of its own.
Mitola shone during the second half, scoring beyond the arc, under the rim and from the free throw line. Cornell tried tirelessly to chase Mitola off the three-point line, but he used screens and slashed to the hoop to keep the opposition in disarray.
With about two minutes left, Cornell began to play the foul game in the hopes that it might pull back. The Big Green, which struggled with free-throw shooting the whole season, went 9-10 from the line in the last two minutes to seal the game. Melville left the hardwood with 0:12 remaining, putting a symbolic cap on the game.
Mitola said the team was motivated by its loss to Cornell earlier this season and the fact that it was its captain’s last contest in front of home fans.
“It’s our last home game, and Tyler’s been a big part of this program,” he said. “He’s had a rough couple of years, and he’s been a great role model and leader for the entire team, so we really wanted to get this one for him.”
Melville’s entire family attended Saturday’s game, and his parents came onto the court with him before the opening tip as he received a bouquet of flowers and a framed picture of himself playing for Dartmouth.
He said that going out on a high note was “a great feeling.”
“We faced a little bit of adversity with the seven-game losing streak, but everybody was on the same page tonight,” he said. “We collectively played hard, and we were fortunate enough to get the big win.”
The Big Green dropped the first game of its weekend Friday night against Columbia University (18-11. 7-5 Ivy), 84-72. Melville led the team with 19 points, and Connor Boehm ’16 contributed 17. Mitola and Brandon McDonnell ’16 both finished with 10 points.
The blue and white opponents brought overwhelming firepower from beyond the arc to blow the game open in the second half. The Big Green shot 49 percent from the field and 8-of-14 from the three, while Columbia sunk 58.1 percent of its attempts and nailed 13 three-pointers. Junior Alex Rosenberg was a terror on the offensive end for the Lions, scoring 22 in the second half and making a whopping 17 free throws overall.
The first half of the contest remained fairly close. While Melville led all scorers with 13 points and Columbia took a 33-30 lead into halftime. The Lions pounced in the second period, though, extending its lead to 11 at the 9:53 mark and never allowing the Big Green to claw back within single digits.
Dartmouth will play its last two games of the season next weekend. On Friday night the squad will head to Brown University, and on Saturday it will trek to Yale University to round out the campaign.
