McCarthy, Bears Down Dartmouth 66-59

McCarthy, Bears Down Dartmouth 66-59

In the sport of college basketball, a select few players come in as freshman and make a major impact right away. However, most players take a few years to blossom. Brown center Andrew McCarthy is a perfect example of the latter.

McCarthy had provided solid contributions as a freshman and sophomore, but he is having a breakout junior season. Friday night McCarthy scored a game-high 19 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and registered a school-record 7 blocked shots in the Bears 66-59 come from behind triumph over Dartmouth.

Brown grabbed a quick 4-0 lead but that was erased by an 8-0 Dartmouth run early on. The Big Green led 33-28 at halftime despite 15 first half points by Brown senior guard Jean Harris off the bench.

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The Bears continued to trail for most of the second half until the game’s final few minutes. Ironically, Brown’s three starting guards (Sean McGonagill, Stephen Albrecht and Matt Sullivan) combined to score just 5 points in the game’s first 35 minutes. They ended up scoring the final 15 points of the game for the Bears to complete the rally.

McGonagill had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Albrecht finished with 5 points and 4 rebounds, but he drained a huge three down the stretch. Sullivan finished with 4 points.

Sophomore forward Dockery Walker was a force early and finished the night with 10 points and 5 rebounds.

The win lifts the Bears record to (7-13) on the season and (1-2) in the Ivy League. Dartmouth falls to (4-15). The Big Green is (0-3) in Ivy play.

Saturday night should be electric at Brown’s Pizzitola Sports Center. That’s when 23rd-ranked Harvard will come to town. The Crimson demolished the Bulldogs at Yale 65-35 Friday night to improve to (17-2) on the year and (3-0) in the Ivies. Gametime Saturday night is slated for 6pm at Brown.

NOTES:

-There are still some tickets available for walk-up sales to Saturday night’s Brown-Harvard game. However, many expect the game to be sold out.

-While the Brown men’s team was beating the Big Green at home Friday night, the Brown women’s team won at Dartmouth 74-50. The victory was head coach Jeannie Burr’s 300th career victory. All of her wins have come in her 24 seasons at Brown.