(Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson College men's basketball team started out the the new year with a big win, turning back visiting Carnegie Mellon University 82-64 on Tuesday night. The Red Devils shot 56 percent from the field, hitting 62 percent of their shots in the second half.
The Red Devils played well from the start, opening the game with a 16-5 run over the first seven minutes of the game. The Tartans closed the gap to 23-19 before the Devils answered with an 8-0 run to lead 31-19 with 6:56 remaining in the first half.
The Tartans rallied again as well, closing out the half with a 16-4 run of their own to tie the game, 35-35. Each team went to the line 14 times in the half behind 27, first-half fouls. The Devils hit 11 attempts from the line while CMU went 8-for-14 from the stripe.
The teams traded baskets through the early part of the second half. The Red Devils held a 51-50 lead at the 12:12 mark before taking advantage of an 8-0 run to put them in front 59-50 just two minutes later. Junior Chris Heine (Spring Lake, N.J./St. Rose) drained a three-pointer during the run and hit another with 6:37 on the clock to put Dickinson in front 64-52.
The Devils held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, hitting 10-of-11 free throws in the final six minutes. The Devils shot 77 percent from the line, sinking 23-of-30 on the night.
Senior Matt Dolan (Chalfont, Pa./St. Joe's Prep) led the way with a game-high 25 points and seven rebounds. He hit 9-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line, adding three steals as well. First-year Brian Gerney (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) added 16 points, hitting 6-of-8 shots, 2-of-3 three-pointers and a pair of free throws to go with a game-high four assists.
First-year Adam Honig (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) reached double-figures with 11 points, adding a pair of assists. Heine tallied nine points and eight rebounds while sophomore Chris Barsanti (Hummelstown, Pa./Tilton School) made some key plays on the night, scoring eight points and matching Gerney with four assists.
Shane Rife led Carnegie Mellon (3-7) with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
The Red Devils improve to 6-6 overall. They return to Centennial Conference action on Saturday, traveling to Haverford College for a 1:00 tip-off.