Dartmouth Athletics Recap of Big Red Victory in Hanover

Three-Point Barrage Sends Dartmouth to Defeat Against Cornell, 75-57
DartmouthSports.com

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. — Dartmouth got 19 points and nine rebounds from senior star forward Alex Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.), but Cornell launched a barrage of three-pointers in the second half to pick up a 75-57 victory on the road at Leede Arena on Friday evening. Ryan Wittman had 20 points and hit 4-of-5 behind the arc to lead the Big Red (19-8, 9-2 Ivy) to help put some space between them and the rest of the Ivy League. The loss dropped Dartmouth (8-17, 6-5 Ivy) from a tie for second into a tie for fourth in the league standings. Joining Wittman in double figures were Louis Dale with 14, and Jeff Foote and Chris Wroblewski with 11 apiece. Wroblewski was about as deadly from deep as Wittman with a trio of triples in five attempts. For the fourth time this year, Barnett finished one rebound shy of a double-double. On a night when he was honored for becoming the 25th Big Green player to score 1,000 points in his career, Barnett was 7-of-15 shooting the ball while handing out four of the team’s six assists. His 19 points bring his career total to 1,321, moving him into ninth all-time on the Dartmouth scoring charts.

Sophomore Ronnie Dixon (Danville, Ill.) was the only other Dartmouth player to score in double figures with 12 points, while sophomore Clive Weeden (Stow, Mass.) snared a career-high eight rebounds on the boards. Cornell enjoyed an eight-point lead at the half, 33-25, but the Big Green cut that deficit down to three a little more than five minutes into the final period. But a Wroblewski three-pointer was followed by a two Adam Gore triples to quickly boost the advantage to 12. Free throws from Barnett and freshman David Rufful (Warwick, R.I.) got Dartmouth back within single digits, but Wittman responded with back-to-back trifectas. After Rufful shot back with his own three-pointer, Wroblewski drilled another from downtown for a 55-41 advantage. All told, Cornell drained six three-pointers for 18 points in a span of barely five minutes, and the Big Green never got closer than 12 the rest of the way. The Big Red not only shot an even 50 percent from the floor (26-of-52), but a sizzling 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from long range. Seven of those threes came in the decisive second half. Meanwhile, Dartmouth could not find its shooting touch, going just 18-of-52 (.346) overall and 5-19 (.263) behind the arc. At the free throw line, the Big Green right around their season average at 64 percent (16-of-25). Rebounding was a Big Green strength in the first half with a 19-15 edge. But Cornell hit the boards hard in the second half with 20 to Dartmouth’s 12 for an overall advantage of 35-31 on the boards. Dartmouth led early in the game, jumping out to a six-point lead at 13-7 following a three-pointer from Dixon. The Big Red scored the next seven points to take a lead, but Barnett drilled a trey for the last lead of the night for the Big Green. Runs of 9-2 and 8-0 in the opening stanza allowed Cornell to open up the eight-point lead at the half. Dartmouth will honor the 1958-59 team on the 50th anniversary of its Ivy League crown as it tries to avenge its loss at Columbia two weeks ago when the Big Green host the Lions tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. Cornell tips off tomorrow night as well at Harvard at 7 p.m.

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Mason looks to complete home dominance

As the Patriots finish up their regular season tonight hosting Towson, they are attempting to complete the first unbeaten season at the Patriot Center. It is not the first time Mason has been undefeated at home during a season but it would be the first time at the Patriot Center. This game also marks the last senior night of any player that was on the 2006 Final Four squad. Chris Fleming and John Vaughan sure have a lot of memories and despite neither of them playing in the 2006 NCAA tournament their leadership from being on that squad will certainly be missed. Towson would like nothing else than to come into Fairfax and ruin this for Mason. Although the Patriots have secured a first round bye in the conference tourney they are looking for some stability and momentum, while still in the running for the #2 seed. Consistency has been a problem for Mason this year and so has winning outside of the Patriot Center. One thing the Patriots have been consistent on is poor free-throw shooting, which is something to keep an eye on in this one. They need to right the ship in this area or they will not have much success next week in Richmond.

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Senior Night for the Cornell Women on Saturday

In his second season as a contributor to The Cornell Basketball Blog, "T.J." provides and update on the Cornell women's senior weekend send-off.

Senior Night for the Cornell Women on Saturday

On Saturday, February 28, at 7pm, Big Red fans in Newman Arena will say goodbye to two dedicated seniors on the Cornell Women's basketball team. Shannon Scarselletta, a 6-1 forward from Buffalo, NY, and Lacey Workman, a 5-8 guard from Indianapolis, Indiana. Both will suit up in Red for the last time at home.

Scarselletta has been a true leader of this team. The big forward plays tough in the post and is the Red's go-to option when Cornell really needs a hoop. She has a variety of post moves, can finish under the basket in traffic, and she can hit a 15-18 footer to keep the defense honest. On the defensive end she is a position-holding defender in the post and is not willing to yield her spot on the floor to any opponent. She is leading the team in scoring (11 ppg), rebounding (5.7 rpg), and blocks (with 16 so far for the season). Shannon defines tough. She is not afraid of contact and is quick to the basket, despite being the strongest player on the team.

Workman has come off the bench this year to provide that needed spark to ignite a significant number of runs for the Red. She lives up to her name on the defensive end, is an excellent rebounder, but her primary contribution has been from deep on the offensive end. She is a 3-point shooter with deadly accuracy. Some 46 of her shot attempts have been from outside the arc, as compared with only 14 from inside the arc. And she has hit for 39% from 3-point-land and 40% overall. Lacey missed a number of games this year due to injury, but she is back and looking good.

The women put themselves in a very good position to enjoy stheir enior night by taking the zero off of Dartmouth's 9-0 record on Friday night. With their overtime defeat of the first-place Big Green, Cornell showed that they are better than their 6-5 record and showed Dartmouth that they still have their number (following up on last year's win for the Ivy League Championship in the playoff game at Morningside Heights).

This year at Newman Arena the Cornell women put together an incredible defensive effort and a strategy that kept Dartmouth from getting into their rhythm. Meanwhile, the Red was lights out on the offensive end when they could get open for threes (with senior Workman plus Virginia McMunigal and Allie Fedorowicz, leading the way), Point-guard- extraordinaire Lauren Benson directed traffic and controlled the ball, and senior Shannon Scarselletta put on an offensive show on the blocks in overtime.

Come out and support the Cornell women's team on Saturday night at 7pm as they take on second place (and very tall) Harvard, and as they try to make the Crimson see Red.

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Chat with Barry Leonard

The Cornell Basketball Blog had an opportunity to chat with Barry Leonard, Cornell Basketball’s play-by-play commentator on 1160 ESPN Radio, WPIE and on Redcast, Cornell’s streaming internet audio/video service. Below is an excerpt of our lengthy conversation with Barry.

(originally published 2.26.09)

Maybe you can tell us a little about how you got into the broadcasting for Cornell Basketball.

Ironically, one summer I went to a basketball camp which was run by the old New York Knicks Center Willis Reed. The director of the camp was a guy by the name of Dave Bliss and of course he is a Cornell alum. I remember at the end of the camp when we’re saying goodbye and getting our certificates, he looked at me and he said, “look, stay in basketball.” So reading between the lines, Coach Bliss back then said, you know, you have a love of the game. You may not be able to play it, but stay with the game… But in terms of how it got me to Cornell University and announcing. I went to Ithaca College, and my best friend there set me up with an internship doing Cornell basketball. Ultimately, I came back to Ithaca as a professional sports broadcaster. I’ve been doing the basketball games for 12 consecutive years now.

I guess in your time, Cornell has travelled to play nonconference games in some pretty incredible venues. Any particular road experiences that stand out for you?

Playing in the Rainbow Classsic in Hawaii… and then this year, to go to Assembly Hall in Indiana Gives you the chills. Minnesota also had one of the most amazing facilities. I also enjoyed going with Cody Toppert and that team to New Mexico and play at the Pit. Michigan State, I think that was Steve Donahue’s first year. I got to meet Tom Izzo before the game. He sat down, did like a 25 minute interview with me, a total class act. Of course, Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium last year. The fans are crazy there. I mean, it’s not much of a gym from an aesthetic standpoint but when the fans get loud, it’s a very impressive sight. Georgia Tech was great. We’ve been down there twice. Of course, Syracuse in the Carrier Dome every year. I just love the fact that Coach D. challenges this team outside of the league and he was challenging this team even before they became a title contender. We’ve gone to some nice venues over the years. and see those championship banners and to watch Ryan Wittman walk on the court where his dad was a great All American.

Did you always travel with the Cornell basketball team or at one point were you just doing home games in Ithaca?

The nice thing about working in a smaller market where you don’t have any pro influence, Cornell is pretty much it for Division 1 here and the University has always been very generous in allowing the announcers, whether it’s football, basketball, hockey or lacrosse, to travel with the teams. So, if they go by bus, I go by bus. If they fly, I fly. So, you know, it’s a nice relationship because you get a little bit more personal at this level. I eat with the guys, travel with guys, and we share all the ups and downs together you might say.

Can you tell us a bit more about the Ivy double-header travel schedule for road weekends?

I think Coach Steve Donahue treats these guys like men. He gives them a tremendous amount of flexibility and leeway and in return they show a tremendous amount of devotion to him.

Typically, for example, I’m talking to you now here on Thursday, they’re practicing until about 5:30 – 5:45 pm on the travel day. They’ll shower quick after practice, get on the bus and we’ll leave at 6:15. Now, kind of a tradition that we started, we’ll stop at this Italian Restaurant in a small little town called Whitney Point, which is about 40 minutes outside of Ithaca called Aiello’s. We’ll eat, dinner and then get right back on the bus and it’s usually anywhere from 4 to 6 hours from there to travel to our first Ivy opponent with the game the following night.

So, a typical bus ride will be a couple of DVD movies that are either picked up by the players or either approved or disapproved by the coaches. They’ll watch some DVD’s. Some of the players still study, some put their headsets on, listen to music. Some bring their own DVD players and watch what they want. It’s a pretty laid-back leisurely bus trip.

After a long trip, typically you get in on Thursday night, players get their keys and go right up to their hotel rooms. Sometimes if we get there a little bit earlier, players will go off and watch a small amount of scouting film. Maybe 5-15 minutes. So the coach gets them in that mindset of, you know, let’s take a little look at who we’re playing tomorrow.

And then the next morning usually breakfast anywhere from 9 to 10 am depending on when the shoot around is, after breakfast, they usually have ½ hr to 1 hr before we’ll go the opposing gym for you know, a shoot around and a walk through. They’ll do, you know, different shooting drills and then receive the scouting report on the opponent were the assistant coaches extensively looked at and broke down game film on the opponent and they’ll be on the court actually doing a walkthrough, you know, going through their offenses and defensive sets. And the shoot-arounds are usually about an hour, give or take.

They’ll go back to the hotel, have some down time. On that Friday night, they usually eat four hours before tip off. So for the 7 o’clock pm Friday game, they’ll eat at 3 o’clock. That’s usually pretty much set in stone.

For the most part, not the most exciting dinners. These are young athletes, so it’s a lot high carbs, chicken, pasta, vegetables. These guys don’t starve. They eat very well. For the most part, we’ll eat in the hotel, but if we’re out at a tournament a lot of times they’ll set up something at a restaurant the night before and go from there or we might get hosted by an alumni group.

After the Friday night game, we try to get out of the gym within the hour and get moving to the Saturday night destination.

So, you see that’s why this is the toughest conference in the country. I think, you know, you talk to coaches in other conferences, with the exception of their post-season tournaments; you don’t have anything like this where you have virtually a 24-hr turnaround before you play next

When you travel with the team, are you with them most of the time and how do you spend your time on the road?

Pretty much when you travel with Cornell, you know, you’re on their schedule in terms of when the players eat, when the players go to the shoot-a-rounds at the opposing teams’ gyms and I like to go to those because it kind of give you like an insiders look at specifically how they’re gonna prepare for that night’s opponent. Each coach that I work with, whether it’s football, basketball or lacrosse, has pretty much given me an open locker room policy in terms of what I see on the road, whether it’s practice, film session and the like, it’s up to my judgment how I wanna use it. I’m not gonna say I lost my objectivity, but you get close to the players and coaches. But it is sort of like when I travel with the team, I’m part of the team. And quite honestly, while a lot of people may have some down time, for the players studying or what not, I’m usually prepping. My motto is those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail. I may only use 30% of the stuff that I put down that night but my feeling is if you don’t have it, there’s gonna come a time when you wish you would have had it.

What’s your perspective on your role with the program? Do you view yourself more as an objective journalist or more of a fan who is sharing the action for those who can’t be there in person and providing them the commentary?

Absolutely, I am first and foremost an objective broadcaster. Even though I’m a subcontractor, I get paid by Cornell to announce their games first and foremost. Here your job is to objectively call the action descriptively and to best of your ability. I think for the most part, I try to do a balanced broadcast.

But I think, you know, if you listen to the broadcast, it’s a reflection of who I am, you know, I’m a type A personality. I get excited at certain times but I think over the course of the game, you know, you get a pretty balanced broadcast.

Now, being the Cornell announcer, do I at times, you know, give extra praise maybe to Cornell? Well of course you, because, you know you’re travelling with them and you’re a part of it. But I think, you know, for me, the best compliments come not just from the parents who listen around the county, but also from the opposition. For example, last year after the Columbia game at home. The Columbia sports information director Darlene came up to me and told me that Coach Joe Jones wants to see me in the locker room. And I had no idea why, because, you know, I thought I done a pretty balanced broadcast. I don’t think I had said anything, you know, excessively negative about the game. And when I went into the locker room he looked at me and he said, “I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I listen to the tapes that come in on the Cornell games and you do a tremendous job. You’re a credit to our League.” So, I’m the Cornell guy but at the same time I think I try to do a job of promoting the other teams around the League when we play them. These are truly unique student athletes in the Ivy League.

I think we noticed in the last year or so that you’re basically becoming more and more a “TV man” at least with respect to the post-game interviews on the Redcast video internet service. Now the cameras are right there on you as you interview the players following the game. Do you see yourself becoming more of a video personality in the years to come?

No. I don’t think so. I just think it shows the technical advances that all the Ivy Schools can do now to offer the live video, particularly on home games. No, I don’t consider myself transitioning into the video full time. To me, radio is the pure medium and that’s what I really enjoy doing.

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Video of Men's Basketball Game At Dartmouth Available on RedCast

Video of Men's Basketball Game At Dartmouth Available on RedCast

CornellBigRed.com

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Live video of tonight's men's basketball game at Dartmouth will be available as part of the RedCast subscription package. The game, scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight from Leede Arena, will feature audio of the Dartmouth broadcast. The Cornell radio feed, featuring Barry Leonard's call on WPIE, will also be available as part of the RedCast service. To sign up for a RedCast subscription, click here.

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News and Notes for 2.27.09

WEEKEND GAME PREVIEW CENTER

Get all the information you need about Cornell's games this weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard with The Cornell Basketball Blog's Game Preview Center. Also, come join the discussion of Cornell and Ivy League Basketball by posting a message on The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum and Message Board (click here, free membership).

WATCHING THE GAMES AT DARTMOUTH/HARVARD

* Live video at Dartmouth (Dartmouth subscription required)
* Live stats at Dartmouth
* Live video at Harvard (Harvard subscription required)
* Live stats at Harvard
* Cornell Redcast Audio/Video Coverage (Redcast subscription required)

CORNELL RPI WATCH

As of February 27, 2009, Cornell's RPI (according to Rivals.com) is No. 116 out of 343 Division I teams nationwide. Cornell is also ranked No. 99 according to Ken Pomeroy's Ranking and No. 119 in Jeff Sagarin's USA Today Ranking.

As Ivy League Champions last season, Cornell finished 2007-2008 with a final RPI of No. 65 out of 341 Division I teams.

BIG RED BRACKETS

The Cornell Basketball Blog monitors the Big Red's bracket projections until the 2009 NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday. Click Big Red Brackets to view the latest projections.

SCHEDULE, RESULTS, STANDINGS

Cornell Big Red 2008-2009 Results

18-8 Record Through February 27, 2009

	Fri, Nov 14	South Dakota	W 79-69
	Mon, Nov 17	at St. John's	L 75-86
	Tue, Nov 18	at Loyola (MD)	W 82-72
	Sat, Nov 22	at Siena	L 56-74
	Mon, Nov 24	Loyola Chicago	W 78-53
	Tue, Nov 25	East. Michigan	W 67-54
	Sun, Nov 30	at Indiana	L 57-72
	Wed, Dec 3	at (16) Syracuse	L 78-88
	Sat, Dec 6	at Minnesota	L 54-71
	Sat, Dec 20	La Salle	W 79-70
	Mon, Dec 22	at St. Joseph's	L 67-71
	Mon, Dec 29	Boston U.	W 89-59
	Wed, Dec 31	Quinnipiac	W 73-70
	Sat, Jan 3	Ursinus	W 99-45
	Tue, Jan 6	Bucknell	W 75-64
	Mon, Jan 12	at Bryant	W 69-46
	Sat, Jan 17	at Columbia	W 71-59
	Sat, Jan 24	Columbia	W 83-72
	Fri, Jan 30	Brown	W 90-58
	Sat, Jan 31	Yale	W 64-36
	Fri, Feb 6	at Princeton	L 41-61
	Sat, Feb 7	at Pennsylvania	W 88-73
	Fri, Feb 13	Harvard	W 96-75
	Sat, Feb 14	Dartmouth	W 79-76
	Fri, Feb 20	at Yale	L 60-72
	Sat, Feb 21	at Brown	W 85-45
	Date	Opponent	Time
	Fri, Feb 27	at Dartmouth	7:00 pm
	Sat, Feb 28	at Harvard	7:00 pm
	Fri, Mar 6	Pennsylvania	7:00 pm
	Sat, Mar 7	Princeton	7:00 pm

IVY LEAGUE STANDINGS

Through February 27, 2009

Cornell	8-2	18-8
Columbia	6-4	11-13
Yale	6-4	11-13
Dartmouth	6-4	8-16
Princeton	5-4	10-12
Pennsylvania	4-5	8-15
Harvard	3-7	11-13
Brown	1-9	7-17

Here are upcoming games around the Ivy League...

Friday, February 27
*Brown at Princeton, 7 pm
*Yale at Penn, 7 pm
*Columbia at Harvard, 7 pm
*Cornell at Dartmouth, 7 pm

Saturday, February 28
*Yale at Princeton, 6 pm
*Brown at Penn, 7 pm
*Columbia at Dartmouth, 7 pm
*Cornell at Harvard, 7 pm

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SportsNetwork Previews Cornell at Dartmouth

Cornell (18-8) at Dartmouth (8-16)

The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Friday, February 27th, 7:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Leede Arena (2,100) -- Hanover, New Hampshire. Television: None. Home Record: Cornell 11-0, Dartmouth 5-8. Away Record: Cornell 4-7, Dartmouth 3-7. Neutral Record: Cornell 3-1, Dartmouth 0-1. Conference Record: Cornell 8-2, Dartmouth 6-4. Series Record: Dartmouth leads, 101-96.

GAME NOTES: Needing at least one win this week to secure a share of the Ivy League title, the Cornell Big Red takes its first shot with a meeting against the Dartmouth Big Green tonight at Leede Arena in Hanover. Cornell enters action tonight with a two-game lead against the rest of the league and could sew up the crown if it swept meetings with both Dartmouth and Harvard and also got some help from other school along the way. Nevertheless, the Big Red was rather impressive in its most recent outing last Saturday with an 85-45 blowout of Brown on the road, the fourth win in the last five games for the program. As for Dartmouth, it is coming off a historic weekend in which it defeated both Penn and Princeton in the same weekend for the first time in half a century. Saturday's 66-63 win in Princeton's Jadwin gym was just the third in the last 41 years for the Big Green. In terms of the all-time series between these two programs, Dartmouth owns a 101-96 advantage dating back to 1900-01, but in recent years Cornell has been dominant with seven straight wins and victories in 10 of the last 11 overall, including a 79-76 double- overtime affair in the first meeting of this season.

Five players scored in double figures in Cornell's lopsided win against Brown last weekend, led by Jeff Foote and his 16 points, to go along with a team- best nine rebounds. Ryan Wittman chipped in 15 points and handed out four assists, followed by Louis Dale with 12 points as he became the 23rd player in program history to log 1,000 points for his career. Not to be forgotten were Alex Tyler and Brian Kreefer with 10 points apiece. Wittman has been putting up strong numbers all season for the Big Red, leading the way with his 18.2 ppg on 44.2 percent shooting from the field. In addition, Wittman is also the top passer for the group with his 70 assists and has knocked down 79 three- point baskets in 26 starts to place himself among the best in the league in that department. Dale (13.9 ppg) and Foote (12.2 ppg) help give the squad a scoring advantage of 9.4 ppg over the competition.

Alex Barnett was a machine at the free-throw line in the final minute of play for the Big Green as he knocked down six attempts to secure the win for the squad on the road against the Tigers in New Jersey. Barnett finished a perfect 7-of-7 at the stripe and came up with a team-best 22 points, followed by Marlon Sanders and David Rufful with 13 and 12 points, respectively, as the squad made good on all but two of 15 chances at the stripe. Barnett, the leading scorer in each of the last four games for Dartmouth, is one of the league's most productive shooters with his 19.6 ppg. Barnett has converted 42.9 percent of his three-point tries and has made nearly twice as many free throws (86-of-103) as his closest teammate even has attempts. However, his impressive 83.5 percent accuracy at the charity stripe has done little to help the squad with its mere 64.3 percent effort at the line over the course of 24 games this season.

Although the teams played a tight matchup in their most recent meeting a few weeks back, don't expect Cornell to need a couple of extra periods this time around to pick up the win.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Cornell 77, Dartmouth 68

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