Sistare Posts a Career Night in 82-70 Win at Cornell

Friday, February 28

Ithaca, N.Y. / Newman Arena

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

11-15,4-7Ivy League

Cornell

6-18,3-8Ivy League

Dartmouth

Cornell

Senior Ian Sistare had the hot hand on Friday night.

Photo by: Eldon Lindsay/Cornell Athletics

Sistare Posts a Career Night in 82-70 Win at Cornell

2/28/2020 8:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The senior scored a career-high 25 points with six 3-pointers.

By: Rick Bender

ITHACA, N.Y. — Senior Ian Sistare posted career highs with 25 points and six 3-pointers to lead Dartmouth to an 82-70 victory over Cornell at Newman Arena on Friday night. With the win, the Big Green (11-15, 4-7 Ivy) snapped a 20-game skid in road Ivy League games, swept the season series from the Big Red for the first since 2003-04 and kept their hopes for qualifying for the league tournament alive.

Cornell (6-18, 3-8 Ivy) got 20 points from Terrance McBride and shot 49.0 percent from the floor, but the Big Red could not keep up with red-hot Dartmouth, which hit 11-of-23 (.478) from the perimeter and 25-of-45 (.556) overall to subdue its hosts.

Although Cornell hit the game's first shot and senior James Foye answered with the first Big Green 3-pointer, Sistare served notice that this was going to be his night, scoring the next 11 Dartmouth points. First he ripped three consecutive long balls then added a driving layup for good measure to carry the Big Green to a 14-8 lead in the game's first five minutes.

The Dartmouth offense went cold for nearly eight minutes, however, hitting just a pair of free throws as the Big Red closed the gap to 22-19. But Sistare got the Green going again with his fourth trifecta of the half with 4:50 to go, and Foye along with sophomore Garrison Wade cranked 3-pointers to extend the lead to 34-26 at the break.

Dartmouth got its two leading scorers on the season — juniors Chris Knight and Aaryn Rai — going in the second stanza after the duo had combined for just seven points over the first 20 minutes. Rai scored a quick bucket and added one from downtown, and Knight flushed home a one-hand jam to boost the lead to 14 at 45-31 four minutes in.

Foye's third 3-pointer gave the Green their largest lead of the night at 52-37 with 13:45 to play. But Cornell found some energy with by utilizing a full-court press and embarked on a 16-3 run to climb back within two, 55-53, with 9:14 still on the clock. Greg Dolan popped a trey and got three the hard way during the run, while McBride hit a long jumper to cap the uprising.

Even in the face of the pressure, Dartmouth maintained its cool and went back to work in the paint as Knight laid one in and was fouled, hitting the free throw to restore order. Following a Rai basket, Sistare made his presence known again by raining down a 3-pointer to make it an eight-point game, 65-57, with 6:27 left.

Knight initially built the bulge back to double digits with a pair of foul shots, then Sistare dropped the dagger from the perimeter to make it a 74-62 game with 2:19 remaining.

A foul on a Rai breakaway and a double technical in the aftermath with 1:36 to play put both teams on the line with Cornell hitting 1-of-2 and Dartmouth 3-of-4, and the Big Green hit four more foul shots down the stretch, leaving no doubt as to the outcome.

Sistare finished his big night 8-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-8 from long range, plus 3-of-4 at the line to account for his 25 points. Rai hit 7-of-8 field goals to provide 18 points and six rebounds, while Knight was 6-of-11 as part of his 17 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and third in the last four games, plus dished out a team-high five assists. Foye also reached double figures with 14 points, and the Big Green held a 29-23 advantage on the glass.

McBride was 8-of-13 shooting the ball with a 3-pointer in scoring his 20, and Bryan Knapp added 17 on 5-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-8 at the line.

Dartmouth will go for its second straight road win at Columbia (6-21, 1-10 Ivy) — which lost its 10th straight in a 77-69 defeat against Harvard tonight — with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday. The game will be televised by SNY in the New York region and streamed live on ESPN+.

Notes: Both Brown and Penn lost tonight, leaving the BIg Green two games behind the Bears and one behind Penn for the fourth and final spot in the Ivy League Tournament … the win was just Dartmouth's second this season when an opponent shot 40 percent or better … the Big Green had not had 10 or more 3-pointers in a game since Dec. 3 (12 at Georgia State) … Dartmouth has split its last six games against the Big Red in Newman Arena.