Before the 1987-'88 season, Dartmouth was favored by most experts to win its first Ivy League title since 1959.

So far, the Big Green has proven those experts right.

Last weekend, the Big Green (8-3 overall, 3-0 Ivies) surged to road wins over Cornell and Columbia to pull ahead of the pack for an early lead in the Ivy League race.

Led by junior Jim Barton's 31 points, Dartmouth toppled the Big Red of Cornell, 97-83, Friday, in Ithaca, N.Y. Three-year Captain Bryan Randall added 19 points for the Big Green, while Cornell's guard Sam Jacobs was the high scorer for the Big Red with 22 points.

Dartmouth had a two-point halftime lead in the close match, but Cornell (6-6 overall, 1-1 Ivies) went up by a point with 15 minutes left to play. The Big Green stormed right back to take a lead it would not relinquish, and extended its winning margin on free throws.

I'll Take Manhattan

The next night, Dartmouth sent a listless Columbia squad (3-9, 0-2 Ivies) down to a 85-73 defeat in Levien Gym in New York.

Big Green Co-Captain Len Bazelak fired in 25 points for Dartmouth, which jumped out to an early lead which the Lions couldn't roar back from.

Barton, who is averaging 25.0 points per game to lead the Ivy League, also chipped in 19 for the Big Green, while Randall added 18 points.

Dartmouth continues its Ivy League schedule February 2 against Harvard in Cambridge.

In other league action, Yale (4-8 overall, 1-0 Ivies) opened its Ivy season with a 92-85 victory over Brown in Providence.

Helped out by Co-Captain Paul Maley's 19 points, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 11-point lead, and held a 7-point edge at the half.

But Ivy League Player of the Week Marcus Thompson scored 36 points for the Bruins to tie the game in the second half.

Senior Eric Mitchell was the key for the Elis down the stretch, as the center pumped in 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field to put Yale ahead for good.