Wednesday, November 15
Hanover, N.H.
7:00 PM
Dartmouth College
1-2,0-0Ivy League
79
vs
61
Westfield State
2-1,0-0MASCAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westfield St. | 25 | 36 | 61 |
| Dartmouth | 49 | 30 | 79 |
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Strong Start Leads Big Green to 79-61 Win Over Westfield State
11/15/2023 11:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Two Dartmouth players posted career highs in scoring in the victory
HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth men's basketball team began Wednesday's game with a vengeance, taking as much as a 30-point lead inside Leede Arena, on the way to beating Westfield State, 79-61, for its first win of the season on Wednesday evening. A pair of Big Green players tallied career-high point totals in sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day (20) and junior Nikola Dimitrijevic (14). Dartmouth's bench produced 40 points, led by senior Dusan Neskovic scoring 13 and classmate Jaren Johnson adding nine.
With the win, the Big Green improve to 1-2 while Westfield State, a perennial contender of the MASCAC (Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference) in Division III, falls to 2-1.
"They're deep," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "They keep coming at you. They play a certain style and don't back away from their style. I thought in the first half, we got to clean looks on the offensive end. We kept them off the glass. The game was a little more at the pace that we wanted.Â
"In the second half, I felt like we didn't come out with the edge we needed to," McLaughlin continued. "It doesn't matter what you're up at halftime; you still need to come out with a certain edge. That gave them some life and because they're a good team and they have tough kids, they took advantage of that."
Mitchell-Day's 20 points came on 7-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line.Â
"When we were at practice and into the locker room, Coach Mac made it a point to get me involved in the post, and also doing the little things to get involved everywhere," said Mitchell-Day. "That means passing it, that means scoring it, it also means putting my teammates in a good position to score and other things. All of that ended up accumulating and I was able to play as I did tonight."
"I felt confident out there," he said. "I'm glad Coach has confidence in me to get the ball in the right spots."
Neskovic came off the bench for the first time this season and finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Johnson continued his strong start to the season with nine points and seven rebounds, as he continues to lead the Big Green in rebounding average (now 6.7 through three games).
Brendon Hamilton led Westfield State with 14 points.
Dartmouth left little doubt early, jumping out to a 16-3 lead less than five minutes in, with Mitchell-Day scoring eight of the Big Green's first 14 points of the evening.Â
After the Owls scored five quick points, Dartmouth responded with 11 of the ensuing 14 points, as a Dimitrijevic 3-pointer gave the Big Green a 27-11 lead midway through the first half. Not long after, Dartmouth staged a 12-0 run to extend its run to 23-5, as a Neskovic driving layup gave the Big Green a 39-13 advantage with 5:44 on the clock, forcing a Westfield State timeout.
The margin eventually swelled to 30 as two Romeo Myrthil free throws gave Dartmouth a 47-17 lead with 2:02 remaining. Making his first start of the season, Myrthil produced at both ends of the floor, finishing the night with eight points and six rebounds.Â
Westfield State ended the half on an 8-2 run to pull within 49-25 at the break. Then, the Owls continued the momentum in the second, beginning the half on a 9-2 run to pull within 51-34. That made it a 17-4 run since Dartmouth's 47-17 lead.
The Big Green would go on to extend their lead back to 27 before Westfield State slowly inched closer. The Owls pulled to as close as 15, 70-55, following a Juju Omot 3-pointer with 5:56 remaining. But that's as close as they would come.
After a Dimitrijevic second-chance layup with 3:12 remaining, Dartmouth's final seven points came from the free throw line to wrap up the 79-61 victory.
For the game, the Big Green shot 42.4 percent from the floor (25-of-59), including 20.7 percent from 3-point range (6-of-29). Westfield State finished at 35.8 percent (24-of-67) and 31.3 percent from behind the arc (10-of-32). Dartmouth held a 46-32 edge in rebounds.
Wednesday's game came with final exams at Dartmouth set to begin on Friday.
"This is always a difficult time of year," said McLaughlin. "We have a very different college than most colleges and universities. We're in reading day today and tomorrow and then they're heavy into exams. A lot of our guys were here late last night and here all day today doing papers. They take their academics very seriously, as they should, and they put a lot of pressure on themselves, so it's almost good to get out on the court and get a little bit of a release. Hopefully, they're set up for success to have a good couple days of exams."
After a break for final exams, the Big Green return to action after the Thanksgiving holiday when they play at Saint Louis out of the Atlantic 10 next Saturday, Nov. 25. Gametime is set for 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. locally) on ESPN+.
With the win, the Big Green improve to 1-2 while Westfield State, a perennial contender of the MASCAC (Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference) in Division III, falls to 2-1.
"They're deep," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "They keep coming at you. They play a certain style and don't back away from their style. I thought in the first half, we got to clean looks on the offensive end. We kept them off the glass. The game was a little more at the pace that we wanted.Â
"In the second half, I felt like we didn't come out with the edge we needed to," McLaughlin continued. "It doesn't matter what you're up at halftime; you still need to come out with a certain edge. That gave them some life and because they're a good team and they have tough kids, they took advantage of that."
Mitchell-Day's 20 points came on 7-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line.Â
"When we were at practice and into the locker room, Coach Mac made it a point to get me involved in the post, and also doing the little things to get involved everywhere," said Mitchell-Day. "That means passing it, that means scoring it, it also means putting my teammates in a good position to score and other things. All of that ended up accumulating and I was able to play as I did tonight."
Dimitrijevic reached double-figure points for the first time in his career and ended with 14 on 6-of-7 shooting, while adding a career-high nine rebounds to just miss a double-double.Great series of passes leads to this Brandon Mitchell-Day layup. Dartmouth currently leads 57-34 with 15:31 left in the second half.
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 16, 2023
Watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/494mFMXvz1 #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/E5Srks2LSw
"I felt confident out there," he said. "I'm glad Coach has confidence in me to get the ball in the right spots."
Neskovic came off the bench for the first time this season and finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Johnson continued his strong start to the season with nine points and seven rebounds, as he continues to lead the Big Green in rebounding average (now 6.7 through three games).
Brendon Hamilton led Westfield State with 14 points.
Dartmouth left little doubt early, jumping out to a 16-3 lead less than five minutes in, with Mitchell-Day scoring eight of the Big Green's first 14 points of the evening.Â
After the Owls scored five quick points, Dartmouth responded with 11 of the ensuing 14 points, as a Dimitrijevic 3-pointer gave the Big Green a 27-11 lead midway through the first half. Not long after, Dartmouth staged a 12-0 run to extend its run to 23-5, as a Neskovic driving layup gave the Big Green a 39-13 advantage with 5:44 on the clock, forcing a Westfield State timeout.
The margin eventually swelled to 30 as two Romeo Myrthil free throws gave Dartmouth a 47-17 lead with 2:02 remaining. Making his first start of the season, Myrthil produced at both ends of the floor, finishing the night with eight points and six rebounds.Â
Westfield State ended the half on an 8-2 run to pull within 49-25 at the break. Then, the Owls continued the momentum in the second, beginning the half on a 9-2 run to pull within 51-34. That made it a 17-4 run since Dartmouth's 47-17 lead.
The Big Green would go on to extend their lead back to 27 before Westfield State slowly inched closer. The Owls pulled to as close as 15, 70-55, following a Juju Omot 3-pointer with 5:56 remaining. But that's as close as they would come.
After a Dimitrijevic second-chance layup with 3:12 remaining, Dartmouth's final seven points came from the free throw line to wrap up the 79-61 victory.
For the game, the Big Green shot 42.4 percent from the floor (25-of-59), including 20.7 percent from 3-point range (6-of-29). Westfield State finished at 35.8 percent (24-of-67) and 31.3 percent from behind the arc (10-of-32). Dartmouth held a 46-32 edge in rebounds.
Wednesday's game came with final exams at Dartmouth set to begin on Friday.
"This is always a difficult time of year," said McLaughlin. "We have a very different college than most colleges and universities. We're in reading day today and tomorrow and then they're heavy into exams. A lot of our guys were here late last night and here all day today doing papers. They take their academics very seriously, as they should, and they put a lot of pressure on themselves, so it's almost good to get out on the court and get a little bit of a release. Hopefully, they're set up for success to have a good couple days of exams."
After a break for final exams, the Big Green return to action after the Thanksgiving holiday when they play at Saint Louis out of the Atlantic 10 next Saturday, Nov. 25. Gametime is set for 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. locally) on ESPN+.
Hear from head coach David McLaughlin following tonight's win over Westfield State.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/OBJYSGtuWS
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 16, 2023
Nikola Dimitrijevic following his career-high 14 points in tonight's win over Westfield State.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/9IWQoGG0yV
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 16, 2023
Brandon Mitchell-Day scored 20 points in today's win over Westfield State, and we caught up with him after the victory.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/xfp9UQ6b1u
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 16, 2023
ÂRomeo Myrthil following tonight's win over Westfield State!#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/cs7vxy8d5d
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 16, 2023
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
WES
Dart
FG%
.358
.424
3FG%
.313
.207
FT%
.750
.885
RB
32
46
TO
14
12
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
7
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