GAME NOTES: The Dartmouth Big Green will play in the postseason for the first time in 56 years on Wednesday when they visit the Koessler Athletic Center to take on the Canisius Golden Griffins in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

The Big Green's dream of reaching the NCAA Tournament was marred by their five-game losing streak after a 1-1 start to their Ivy League slate. Dartmouth finished the regular season with some momentum, winning five games in a row and six out of its last seven, but the Ivy League's lack of a conference tournament prevented it from running the table into the Big Dance. Coach Paul Cormier's team averages 63.0 points per game on 43.6 percent efficiency from the field. Dartmouth owns a .588 winning percentage in postseason play. The Big Green's biggest win of the season came in their most recent outing as they clinched a thrilling 59-58 decision over Yale, which denied the Bulldogs an outright Ivy League regular season title.

Canisius entered the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference as the No. 5 seed with an 11-9 league record. The Golden Griffins were bounced in the opening round after falling, 60-54, to the fourth-seeded Monmouth Hawks held them to a 6- of-20 clip from beyond the arc. Coach Jim Baron's squad won four of its final five regular season games to rise three games above the .500 mark for the postseason. The Golden Griffins are ranked eighth in the MAAC in scoring offense (64.2 ppg), and second in scoring defense with an allowance of only 62.3 ppg.

Junior forward Tommy Carpenter came off the bench to pace Dartmouth versus the Bulldogs with 13 points, while freshman forward Miles Wright tallied 12 points, five rebounds and five steals. Senior center Gabas Maldunas provided 10 points, five boards and the game-winning tip-in just before the buzzer. Junior guard Alex Mitola, who averages a team-best 12.4 ppg, was limited to four points. Mitola went 1-of-13 from the floor for just 10 points over the final two games of the regular season. Maldunas is the Big Green's second leading scorer (11.1 ppg) and top rebounder (6.8 rpg).

Canisius is paced by sophomore guard Zach Lewis, who tallied 12.6 ppg en route to an All-MAAC Third-Team selection. Senior forward Josiah Heath contributes 9.4 points and 6.8 boards per contest. Senior Jeremiah Williams netted a game- high 18 points in the loss to Monmouth. Williams has scored 14.8 ppg over his last five games. The Golden Griffins shot only 38 percent from the field and committed 19 personal fouls and 17 turnover against the Hawks last week. They were also outrebounded, 35-32. Lewis was held to four points and Heath hit on just 3-of-12 field goal tries for seven points.

The Golden Griffins hold a clear upper hand in their bout with Dartmouth. The Big Green caught fire towards the end of their regular season, but they were going up against inferior competition in the majority of those contests.