It was a weekend for the record books as both Matt Mullery '10 and Peter Sullivan '11 advanced on Brown's career scoring list. The Bears put up their fourth win in the last six games.
After a 91-71 loss to Harvard (20-6, 9-3 Ivy League), the Bears (11-18, 5-7) beat Dartmouth (5-21, 1-11), 76-57.
Harvard 91, Brown 71
Harvard built a 54-33 halftime lead and maintained it throughout the game to put the Bears down on Friday night.
Despite strong shooting efforts by Sullivan, Garrett Leffelman '11 and Andrew McCarthy '13, who all put up double-digit points on the night, the Bears couldn't battle back in the second half.
Leffelman scored a career-high 19 points, his third new career-high in the last four games.
"I think for me personally it's been a combination of hard work paying off and being given the chance to go out and perform," Leffelman said. "The opportunity to play is huge."
Sullivan scored 18 for the Bears, becoming the 24th player in Brown history to reach the career 1,000-point mark. McCarthy added 12, and Mullery had nine points with six assists.
In the first half, the Crimson were able to exchange 10 Brown turnovers for 15 points. Harvard strolled into the locker room following a 31-8 run to put the team up, 54-33. The second half was more evenly played, but Brown was unable to bounce back from the deficit.
The Crimson outshot the Bears beyond the arc by connecting on 12 of 19, while Brown only hit six of their 16 treys.
"As a coach, you worry about the kids falling in love with the three and knowing that it's not going to go in so easily, you need that balance," Harvard Head Coach Tommy Amaker told Harvard Sports Information.
Harvard had four players in double digits, including freshman Brandyn Curry, who scored a game-high 21 points. Of Harvard's 91 points, 73 were scored by underclassmen.
"I thought playing a lot of guys we wore them down," Amaker told Harvard Sports Information.
Brown's fall to Harvard allowed the Crimson to tie a program record with 19 season victories.
Brown 76, Dartmouth 57
Led by Mullery, Brown was able to bounce back in Saturday's game against Dartmouth.
With the forward's 20 points, he moved into 17th place on Brown's career scoring list.
It was Dartmouth's senior night, but the Bears spoiled it.
"There was more excitement," said Dartmouth freshman player Matt LaBove. "We wanted to get a win for our senior, Robby Pride."
Instead, Brown held the Big Green's lone senior to 11 points and left Hanover with the win.
"I think we were really more focused as a collective unit," Leffelman said. "We really prepared for them. Up and down the line, for every single guy, winning was the absolute only thing on our mind."
Last week's Ivy League Rookie of the Week, Tucker Halpern '13, scored 16 points, and Adrian Williams '11 added 15 points — all from the three-point line. Steve Gruber '10 passed out a career-high 10 assists to get the offense going.
The Big Green did not go down easily, as the team constantly chipped away to remain in the game. Dartmouth came within three points of the Bears at halftime, 37-34.
After Dartmouth cut the lead to two early in the second half, Brown went on a 16-4 run to retake control. The Bears hit 10 shots from the arc, and its bench supplied 40 of its 76 points.
"We knew what they were able to do, we just didn't execute," Dartmouth's LaBove said. "We made some key mistakes. They're a good team."
Brown returns to its home court next Friday and Saturday for its final games of the season against Cornell and Columbia.
