Dartmouth Returns Home Wednesday Night

Wednesday, November 30

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

NVU-Johnson

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

11/29/2022 4:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Big Green return home for the first time since Nov. 12

By: Justin Lafleur

GAME 8
Dartmouth (2-5, 0-0 Ivy) vs. NVU-Johnson (5-4, 0-0 North Atlantic)
Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2022 – 7 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

Setting the Scene
The Dartmouth men's basketball team continues a busy stretch of games when the Big Green return home to host NVU-Johnson on Wednesday. Gametime is set for 7 p.m. with Brett Franklin and Dave Faucher on the call. The Big Green are coming off a 1-2 record at the 210 San Antonio Shootout, which included a hard-fought overtime win against host and Conference USA member UTSA. Dartmouth did so without its leading scorer Dusan Neskovic due to injury, while other rotational players were out during periods of that game, and on Monday vs. Grambling State. Wednesday will mark the first of a three-game homestand for the Big Green.

Sophomore Ryan Cornish led the way on Sunday with career highs in points (21) and rebounds (9). He scored five of the Big Green's 10 points in overtime, and assisted on what proved to be the game-winning basket – a Cam Krystkowiak fastbreak layup to put Dartmouth ahead, 78-77, which proved to be the final. Cornish led Dartmouth with 13 points on Monday vs. Grambling State, as he has scored in double figures in six of the seven games thus far, a team high.

Another story from the weekend was freshman Brandon Mitchell-Day, who entered Friday's game vs. Incarnate Word for an injured Neskovic and went on to lead the Big Green in scoring with 14. It was his second game this season leading Dartmouth in points (along with his career-high 18 points vs. Bryant). Five different Big Green have led the way in scoring, with Mitchell-Day and Cornish each doing it twice.

Sunday (Nov. 27) was Dartmouth's first overtime win since nearly a year to the day prior, Nov. 28, 2021 at Bryant. It also marked the program's first-ever win in the state of Texas; Dartmouth had previously won two other games against Texas teams. The 2022-23 Big Green stand 2-5 overall, but all five losses have come against teams with at least a .500 record, with the first three teams Dartmouth lost to (Fordham, Bryant and Quinnipiac) currently standing at a combined 20-2 on the season. In all three of those games, the Big Green were in the game (and against Bryant and Quinnipiac, leading) deep into the second half.

With a win...
- Dartmouth would win its second straight home game and improve to 2-1 at home.
- The Big Green would win their first-ever game against NVU-Johnson.

Last Time Out
SAN ANTONIO (11/28/22) – After jumping out to a 6-0 lead, Grambling State responded with a 23-4 run and the Tigers wouldn't look back, defeating the Dartmouth men's basketball team, 73-49, on Monday to wrap up the 210 San Antonio Shootout hosted by UTSA. Turnovers hurt the Big Green, as they surpassed 20 for the second time in three games, finishing with 21 on Monday. Sophomore Ryan Cornish led the offense with 13 points, one game after scoring a career-high 21 in Sunday night's overtime win over the host Roadrunners.

Scouting NVU-Johnson
NVU-Johnson stands 5-4 on the season, most recently falling at Amherst on Monday by a 94-64 final. It marked the Badgers' second loss and third in the last four games. NVU-Johnson began the season 3-0, with wins at Plymouth State (80-66), vs. Norwich (91-81) and against Vermont Tech (83-43).

Yeskin Walker Williams leads NVU-Johnson in scoring, averaging 15.5 points and a team-leading 8.8 rebounds per game while Mohammed Semega is second in scoring (14.0) and Raymond Baka third (12.0) to go with eight rebounds. Walker Williams leads the Badgers in assists (2.0). As a team, NVU-Johnson is outscoring its opponents by an average of 7.0 points per game.

All-Time Against The Badgers
Wednesday will mark the first-ever meeting between Dartmouth and NVU-Johnson.

3-Point Prowess
Dartmouth knocked down double-figure 3-pointers in three of the first four games of the season (11 at Fordham, 10 vs. Bryant and 13 against MCLA). That made it seven times in eight games with 10+ treys dating back to the end of 2021-22. (The Big Green had nine at Quinnipiac in game four.) It marked the first time the Big Green had double-digit made threes in their first three games of the season since 2018-19.

Through seven games, Dartmouth's 9.4 made 3-pointers per game stands 43rd nationally and second in the Ivy League.

Balanced Scoring
Through seven games, five different Big Green players have led the team in scoring - Dusan Neskovic (at Fordham), Brandon Mitchell-Day (vs. Bryant), Robert McRae III (vs. MCLA), Cade Haskins (at Quinnipiac), Mitchell-Day (vs. Incarnate Word), Ryan Cornish (at UTSA) and Cornish again (vs. Grambling State).

Big Green in the Lone Star State
Dartmouth picked up a 78-77 overtime win at UTSA on Sunday, Nov. 27, marking the program's first-ever win in the state of Texas. The Big Green also played Incarnate Word in the 210 San Antonio Shootout, as the Cardinals and Roadrunners marked the fifth and sixth Texas schools Dartmouth has ever played (the others being Houston, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech). There are 24 current Division I men's basketball programs in the state. Dartmouth is now 3-5 all-time against Texas schools, also owning wins over Houston (Dec. 12, 1957 at home by an 84-64 final) and Texas A&M (Dec. 17, 1989 by a 64-51 final).

Welcome to Dartmouth!
Head coach David McLaughlin announced in August the addition of three student-athletes in the Class of 2026 — Brandon Mitchell-Day, Jackson Munro and Jayden Williams.

Mitchell-Day, a 6-8, 205-pound forward from Creve Coeur, Missouri, was the conference player of the year for Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day (MICDS) this past winter, scoring over 1,000 points in his prep career. Twice he was named all-state and all-district, and he played AAU ball for Gateway Basketball on the Under Armour Rise Circuit.

A 6-8, 220-pound forward from Wilmette, Illinois, Munro is a product of New Trier High School, which he helped advance to the Illinois State Sectional finals by averaging around 16 points and nine rebounds a game. The Chicago Sun-Times First Team All-State selection was also a two-time All-Central Suburban League performer and named the New Trier/Thanksgiving Tournament MVP. On the AAU circuit, he made a name for himself playing with Fundamental U.

Williams, a product of Windermere Prep in Florida, was All-Florida First Team this past year along with all-district and All-Region 3 honors to his name. The 6-6, 185-pound wing averaged about 18 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest, helping the Lakers post a 20-8 record during the season. He also played AAU ball as a member of 1Family.

Captains Revealed
Last May, Dartmouth men's basketball head coach David McLaughlin revealed the three captains that will lead his squad during the 2022-23 season — rising seniors Dame Adelekun, Jackson Blaufeld and Cam Krystkowiak.

Adelekun, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward from Gastonia, North Carolina, emerged as a force in the frontcourt when Ivy League play began at the beginning of the calendar year. Injuries had limited him to just 15 games in his career while averaging just over one point. But in conference games last winter, he produced 10.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game over the 14 contests while shooting 63.6 percent from the floor and blocking a team-high 10 shots. Those numbers led to him earning the team's Rudy LaRusso '59 Award as the most improved player as well. A 6-4, 195-pound shooting guard from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Blaufeld may have seen limited action during his career with just 17 games under his belt, but he is one of the most positive and vocal teammates the Big Green have ever seen. His work ethic in practice is unmatched, whether he is putting in extra time to improve his own game or helping his teammates get better with his intense energy and dogged determination when matching up against them. Krystkowiak, the son of former NBA player Larry Krystkowiak, is working on making a name for himself as the third captain for the Big Green next season. The 6-9, 210-pound power forward from San Diego, California, finally got a chance to play this past winter after missing his entire freshman season due to an injury. With the skills to play in the post and on the perimeter, he showed what he could do right out of the gate with nine points in the season opener at Boston College and five more with four rebounds in the win at Georgetown, including his first 3-pointer. But it was his 20-point performance in a six-point loss at California that put all of his talent on display.

Year-End Awards
The Dartmouth men's basketball team and head coach David McLaughlin announced its end-of-year team awards last May during a team banquet with guard Brendan Barry named as the A.D. "Dolly" Stark Award winner as the Big Green's most valuable player for the second time in his career. Barry, a 6-2, 180-pound graduate student from Rumson-Fair Haven, New Jersey, was selected for the All-Ivy League Second Team this past winter, ranking seventh in the conference in scoring at 14.6 points per game while leading the Ancient Eight in 3-point field goals made (85), 3-pointers per game (3.4) and 3-point accuracy (41.1 percent), not to mention minutes on the court (35.7 per game). The sharpshooter scored in double figures in 20 of the 25 games, topping 20 on five occasions with a high of 26 in an overtime contest at Florida Gulf Coast. But Barry wasn't just a scorer, leading the team with 47 assists and 40 steals, the latter of which ranked third in the conference. He also finished his career with 244 career 3-pointers, breaking the program record — in his final game that had stood for 33 years. Barry won this award in 2018-19 as well during his junior season. The Rudy LaRusso '59 Award, given to the team's most improved player, went to junior Dame Adelekun. A 6-8, 220-pound forward out of Gastonia, North Carolina, had been limited by injuries through the end of 2021, playing in just 15 games in his career while barely averaging one point per game. But when Ivy League play began as the calendar flipped to 2022, so did his production as Adelekun produced 10.6 points and 8.2 rebounds in the 14 conference contests. Not only did he lead the team on the glass, but also in field goal percentage (.636), free throws made (37) and blocked shots (10), and he scored a season-high 19 points in a 71-59 victory over Cornell.

Two players shared the John Di Iorio '56 Award for hustle, drive and determination — senior Taurus Samuels of Oceanside, California, and freshman Romeo Myrthil of Solna, Sweden. Both guards demonstrated an all-out hustling style of play that inspired their teammates that characterized the Big Green's style of play through the campaign. Samuels started all 23 games in which he played, averaging 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while posting more than twice as many helpers (40) as turnovers (19). He was a key player in the early-season win at Georgetown where he scored a season-high 23 points, and he also tallied 22 more in a near-upset at Stanford. Myrthil saw his playing time increase as the season wore on, seeing action in 13 of the 14 league games, and averaged 2.4 points in his 18 games while shooting 50 percent (17-of-34) from the floor and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from the perimeter. Finally, the Alvin F. "Doggie" Julian Award for spirit and enthusiasm was bestowed upon senior Wes Slajchert. A native of Oak Park, California, Slajchert played in all 25 games with nine starts, averaging 12.7 minutes and doing every little thing asked of him to contribute to the team, whether it be take care of the basketball, hit the boards and play lock-down defense. He finished the season producing 1.4 points and 1.1 rebounds per game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 17-10, and saw action in all 84 games Dartmouth played since he arrived on campus as a freshman in 2018-19, scoring 177 points and dishing out 78 assists.

Follow Along
Wednesday's game will be streamed on ESPN+, with Brett Franklin and Dave Faucher on the call, while there will also be an audio broadcast available on DartmouthSports.com, with Justin McIsaac and Bill Murphy on the call.

What's Ahead?
Following Wednesday's game, the Big Green remain home to host CSU Bakersfield on Saturday at 2 p.m.