Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Penn on February 21, 2025 , Loss , 75, to, 88
Final
Men's Basketball
at Penn
75
88
Saturday, November 25
Saint Louis, Mo. / Chaifetz Arena
8:00 PM ET
Dartmouth College
1-3,0-0Ivy League
65
at
66
Saint Louis
5-2,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
F
Dartmouth
30
35
65
Saint Louis
41
25
66
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Big Green Second-Half Surge Falls Just Short at Saint Louis, 66-65
11/25/2023 11:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Dartmouth had three good looks in the final 10 seconds, but the shots didn’t fall
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Despite a career-high tying 24 points from senior Dusan Neskovic and the first-career double-double from sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day, the Dartmouth men's basketball team fell just short at Saint Louis on Saturday evening, 66-65. Defensively, the Big Green held the Billikens scoreless over the game's final 2:36. On the other end, sophomore Jackson Munro finished a pair of layups to get Dartmouth within one, but three opportunities in the final 10 seconds — two chances in the paint and a 3-pointer — wouldn't fall as the Billikens held on for the slimmest of victories.
"I thought the guys really responded at halftime when I challenged them with a couple things in terms of playing physically without fouling, holding up better communication on defensive possessions and getting great shots on the offensive end," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "That's something we need to define us. Try to get to a point where we're not really hurting ourselves and we took a step with that. It would have been great to get the win and take that step, but we can learn from it either way."
With the loss, the Big Green fall to 1-3. Saint Louis out of the Atlantic 10, who won 21 games last season, improves to 5-2.
Most of the first half was competitive, but Saint Louis ended the stanza on a 14-5 run to take a 41-30 halftime lead. Dartmouth then began the second half with a 14-2 run to take a one-point lead. The Billikens flipped the script to take an eight-point lead before the Big Green's final surge.
Playing in front of many family and friends, Mitchell-Day wouldn't disappoint, posting 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for his first-career double-double. The St. Louis native was efficient in shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, while adding three assists, two steals and two blocks.
"So happy that we were able to come back here for Brandon," said McLaughlin. "So many family and friends here, and for him to play well in front of all those people was a real special moment for him and he deserved it."
"It's hard to lose such a game on the road with the great opportunity that we had," said Neskovic. "We showed really good signs of physicality that we lacked in the last couple games. We showed that we can be an inside-out team, which has to carry on to the next game and the game following that.Â
"I really believe in this team."
Munro scored all nine of his points in the second half, while classmate Jayden Williams finished with nine as well, knocking down 2-of-4 from the floor, all coming from behind the 3-point line.
Gibson Jimerson led Saint Louis with 23 points, but was held to 6-of-18 shooting from the floor. He knocked down 10-of-11 free throws.
The teams traded baskets in the early going, with only one lead of multiple possessions in the first nine minutes. It came from Saint Louis, who led 10-6 following a Terrence Hargrove Jr. layup. The Big Green responded with 12 of the next 16 points as a Neskovic 3-pointer was Dartmouth's second in as many possessions, giving Dartmouth an 18-14 lead with 10:37 on the first-half clock.
A few minutes later, the Billikens used a 7-0 surge to take a 27-20 lead and after five straight Big Green points, Saint Louis ended the half on a 14-5 run to take a 41-30 halftime advantage.
Not long after, Neskovic knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a 14-2 run, giving Dartmouth a 44-43 lead with 15:23 on the clock. It marked the Big Green's first lead since 18-17 midway through the first half.
A Neskovic 3-pointer gave Dartmouth a 47-46 lead, but an 11-2 Saint Louis run gave the Billikens a 57-49 advantage with 7:52 remaining. The Billikens continued to hold multiple-possession leads for much of the following minutes until the Big Green's late surge. Trailing 66-61 heading into the final two minutes, Munro converted a hook shot with on the clock to pull within 66-63. After a defensive stop, Munro added a layup to pull within 66-65.Â
Dartmouth needed a stop and got it. On the offensive end, Munro couldn't finish an initial chance in the paint, but his offensive rebound led to a Neskovic 3-pointer. Munro followed with a tip attempt that wouldn't fall, either, and Saint Louis' Larry Hughes II got the rebound with less than a second remaining to secure the win.
"I thought the last two possessions of the game were what we wanted," said McLaughlin. "We got a stop; I told the guys don't call a timeout if they had something in transition. They pushed it and that showed confidence from our group; I really appreciated that. We had multiple good looks to potentially win the game, and they just didn't fall."
For the game, the Big Green shot 43.4 percent from the floor (23-of-53), including 23.1 percent from 3-point range (23.1 percent). Saint Louis finished at 38.3 percent (23-of-60) and 26.7 percent from behind the arc (4-of-15). The Big Green held a 36-34 edge in rebounds.
Dartmouth returns to action on Wednesday night at interstate rival Vermont. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
"I thought the guys really responded at halftime when I challenged them with a couple things in terms of playing physically without fouling, holding up better communication on defensive possessions and getting great shots on the offensive end," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "That's something we need to define us. Try to get to a point where we're not really hurting ourselves and we took a step with that. It would have been great to get the win and take that step, but we can learn from it either way."
With the loss, the Big Green fall to 1-3. Saint Louis out of the Atlantic 10, who won 21 games last season, improves to 5-2.
Most of the first half was competitive, but Saint Louis ended the stanza on a 14-5 run to take a 41-30 halftime lead. Dartmouth then began the second half with a 14-2 run to take a one-point lead. The Billikens flipped the script to take an eight-point lead before the Big Green's final surge.
Playing in front of many family and friends, Mitchell-Day wouldn't disappoint, posting 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for his first-career double-double. The St. Louis native was efficient in shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, while adding three assists, two steals and two blocks.
"So happy that we were able to come back here for Brandon," said McLaughlin. "So many family and friends here, and for him to play well in front of all those people was a real special moment for him and he deserved it."
Neskovic's 24 points, along with tying a career high, marked his second 20+ point effort of the season (along with 23 in the season opener at Duke). He shot 8-of-20 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, while also adding seven rebounds.Brandon Mitchell-Day gets a big ovation!#GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/OVz9xjgH4l
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 26, 2023
"It's hard to lose such a game on the road with the great opportunity that we had," said Neskovic. "We showed really good signs of physicality that we lacked in the last couple games. We showed that we can be an inside-out team, which has to carry on to the next game and the game following that.Â
"I really believe in this team."
Munro scored all nine of his points in the second half, while classmate Jayden Williams finished with nine as well, knocking down 2-of-4 from the floor, all coming from behind the 3-point line.
Gibson Jimerson led Saint Louis with 23 points, but was held to 6-of-18 shooting from the floor. He knocked down 10-of-11 free throws.
The teams traded baskets in the early going, with only one lead of multiple possessions in the first nine minutes. It came from Saint Louis, who led 10-6 following a Terrence Hargrove Jr. layup. The Big Green responded with 12 of the next 16 points as a Neskovic 3-pointer was Dartmouth's second in as many possessions, giving Dartmouth an 18-14 lead with 10:37 on the first-half clock.
A few minutes later, the Billikens used a 7-0 surge to take a 27-20 lead and after five straight Big Green points, Saint Louis ended the half on a 14-5 run to take a 41-30 halftime advantage.
To begin the second half, senior Jaren Johnson finished an and-one layup, then Munro and Williams knocked down 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. That quickly pulled the Big Green within 41-38 and forcing a quick Saint Louis timeout less than two minutes into the period.Enjoy these first-half photos as we get ready for the second, which is set to begin shortly.
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 26, 2023
Watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/8lYz8jT42Y #TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/6Vl78SSOLH
Not long after, Neskovic knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a 14-2 run, giving Dartmouth a 44-43 lead with 15:23 on the clock. It marked the Big Green's first lead since 18-17 midway through the first half.
A Neskovic 3-pointer gave Dartmouth a 47-46 lead, but an 11-2 Saint Louis run gave the Billikens a 57-49 advantage with 7:52 remaining. The Billikens continued to hold multiple-possession leads for much of the following minutes until the Big Green's late surge. Trailing 66-61 heading into the final two minutes, Munro converted a hook shot with on the clock to pull within 66-63. After a defensive stop, Munro added a layup to pull within 66-65.Â
Dartmouth needed a stop and got it. On the offensive end, Munro couldn't finish an initial chance in the paint, but his offensive rebound led to a Neskovic 3-pointer. Munro followed with a tip attempt that wouldn't fall, either, and Saint Louis' Larry Hughes II got the rebound with less than a second remaining to secure the win.
"I thought the last two possessions of the game were what we wanted," said McLaughlin. "We got a stop; I told the guys don't call a timeout if they had something in transition. They pushed it and that showed confidence from our group; I really appreciated that. We had multiple good looks to potentially win the game, and they just didn't fall."
For the game, the Big Green shot 43.4 percent from the floor (23-of-53), including 23.1 percent from 3-point range (23.1 percent). Saint Louis finished at 38.3 percent (23-of-60) and 26.7 percent from behind the arc (4-of-15). The Big Green held a 36-34 edge in rebounds.
Dartmouth returns to action on Wednesday night at interstate rival Vermont. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
We caught up with head coach David McLaughlin following tonight's 66-65 loss at Saint Louis.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/eJjH6kYL6p
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 26, 2023
Dusan Neskovic tied a career-high 24 points tonight and we caught up with him after the game.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/WJ6mPWWnJN
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 26, 2023
ÂJaren Johnson made his first start of the season tonight and we caught up with him after the game.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/rVIZNKpa5J
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 26, 2023
Team Stats
Dart
SLU
FG%
.434
.383
3FG%
.231
.267
FT%
.765
.762
RB
36
34
TO
11
6
STL
4
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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