Lithuanian Gabas Maldunas had his first experience with Ivy League play, and things worked out pretty well for him - if not for Dartmouth.
The freshman forward scored 15 points with nine rebounds on Saturday against No. 22 Harvard. He had eight rebounds in the first half, helping Dartmouth stay with the Crimson and even open a seven-point lead before Harvard pulled away with a dominant second to win 63-47.
''He's a tremendous player,'' Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. ''After having eight (rebounds) in the first half, I was happy with nine.''
Oliver McNally scored 17 points, hitting a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run that gave Harvard (13-2, 1-0 Ivy) the lead for good. Dartmouth (3-13, 0-1) led 36-30 with 15:11 to play but was outscored 36-13 from there to lose its sixth straight game.
''I'm disappointed that we weren't able to put a complete game together,'' McNally said, ''but we'll take an 18-point win.''
Amaker said the turning point might have been McNally's halftime talk. The senior guard reminded his teammates to stop worrying about the missed shots - they shot 39 percent from the field in the first half - and get back to the things that had made them successful.
''He's very vocal for us. He's our heart and soul,'' Amaker said. ''He's a tremendous leader. He's wired that way. If he played football, he'd be the quarterback.''
Kyle Casey and Keith Wright scored 10 apiece for Harvard, which gained its first-ever ranking this season and climbed to No. 22 before the 60-54 loss to Fordham on Tuesday night. That could knock them out of the polls, and with the Ivy schedule starting they won't face the high-profile programs that would help them get back in.
McNally said the players had plenty of time to think on the four-hour bus ride back from New York; there was no movie because they lost, and the bus was dark.
''The Fordham game is not behind me,'' McNally said. ''It makes me even more frustrated that we weren't able to play well.''
Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust was at the game, Harvard's second sellout of the season. New courtside seats were added and a new press box was built to accommodate the interest in the program, which last season shared the conference championship - Harvard's first men's basketball Ivy title.
Harvard entered the polls for the first time in school history on Dec. 5, promptly lost to No. 9 Connecticut and then made its way back into the rankings and up to No. 22 this week. But the Fordham loss could knock the Crimson back out as they head into the less competitive Ivy schedule.
''They're a Top 25 team. I can see it,'' Dartmouth coach Paul Cormier said, noting that even after a slow first half Harvard was able to turn things around in the second. ''It's a real testament to them to have the patience to not panic.''
It won't help their case that they struggled with Dartmouth. Harvard led just 23-22 at the half, then the Big Green scored nine straight points - capped by three baskets by Maldunas, to open a 34-27 lead with 16:20 to play.
Dartmouth led 36-30 when Harvard scored eight straight points during a 16-2 run, getting a 3-pointer by McNally to cut it to one point and then Brandyn Curry's three-point play to take the lead.
