Monday, November 6
Durham, N.C. / Cameron Indoor Stadium
9:00 PM
Dartmouth College
0-1,0-0Ivy League
54
at
92
Duke
1-0,0-0ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth | 21 | 33 | 54 |
| Duke | 42 | 50 | 92 |
Photo by: Karl DeBlaker
No. 2 Duke Pulls Away from Big Green, 92-54
11/7/2023 12:55:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dusan Neskovic’s 23 points were the most scored against Duke in the Blue Devils’ home opener in 10 years
DURHAM, N.C. — The Dartmouth men's basketball team pulled within 18-14 more than midway through the first half, but the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils proved too much in the end, beating the Big Green, 92-54, in the season opener for both sides on Monday night inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Senior Dusan Neskovic led Dartmouth with 23 points on 11-of-19 shooting, with 15 of the points coming in the second half. The 23 points are most by an opponent in Duke's home opener since Davidson's De'Mon Brooks scored 24 on Nov. 8, 2013.
"Dusan got downhill a little bit," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "He started feeling it in the second half and had some driving lines."
Monday marked the second straight season opener that Neskovic scored 23 points, last season doing so at Fordham. Neskovic's 23 points were also the most by any nonconference opponent at Cameron Indoor Stadium Kevon Harris of Stephen F. Austin scored 26 on Nov. 26, 2019.
Kyle Filipowski scored a game-high 25 points for Duke, shooting 10-for-12 from the field.
"Early in the game, we started off being really physical," said Neskovic. "That was one of the keys that we had. That should have defined us throughout the game, and it didn't. The first few minutes, we were physical, rebounding and making them take tough shots. It worked in our favor and made them a little bit nervous on opening night. But we didn't maintain that level of physicality throughout 40 minutes."
The Blue Devils jumped out to early seven-point leads of 11-4 and 14-7, eventually reaching 18-9 after a Jaylen Blakes layup. Dartmouth answered with five straight points behind a Jayden Williams 3-pointer and a pair of Cornish free throws, pulling the Big Green within 18-14 with 8:16 on the first-half clock.
A few minutes later, sophomore Jackson Munro knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Big Green back within 25-19 with 5:27 left in the first, but Duke responded with an 8-0 run in less than two minutes of game action. A Jeremy Roach driving layup made the score 33-19 with 3:35 remaining in the half.
Dartmouth didn't score for the final 3:10 of the first half, and the Blue Devils reeled off nine unanswered points to head into halftime with a 42-21 lead.
"[Duke] made a couple shots against the zone," said McLaughlin. "They made threes [on consecutive possessions], which probably gave them a little confidence in terms of just moving the ball quickly. When you play a team like this on the road, a team that's this talented, it's not like you can play mistake-free basketball, but you need to really make sure you have solid offensive possessions every single time.
"When you're in a three four, five possession game and all of a sudden, it becomes seven or eight, that's a big deal, especially on the road," McLaughlin continued. "It's really, really hard to make up."
One minute into the second half, a Mitchell-Day 3-pointer pulled Dartmouth within 44-24. For a while, though, the teams traded baskets, with Neskovic scoring nine points in the first 5:06 of the second half. His first 3-pointer of the game, and season, pulled Dartmouth within 56-33.
A Neskovic layup got the Big Green back within 20, 63-43, with 11:04 on the clock. However, Duke answered with an 11-0 run to take a 74-43 lead, erasing any doubt. The Blue Devils' biggest lead came at the final horn. Senior Izaiah Robinson knocked down a tough jumper with 1:51 remaining, but the Blue Devils scored the final four points for the 92-54 final.
For the game, the Big Green shot 33.9 percent from the floor (19-of-56), including 22.2 percent from 3-point range (4-of-18). Duke finished at 64.4 percent (38-of-59) and 41.2 percent from behind the arc (7-fo-17). The Blue Devils held a slim 33-29 edge in rebounds, with Dartmouth holding a 10-5 edge in offensive boards. The Big Green finished with 13 turnovers compared to Duke's nine.
Dartmouth now looks ahead to its home opener, set for this Friday at 6 p.m. vs. UMass Lowell. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+ and Stretch Internet. Season and single-game tickets are available for purchase through the Dartmouth Athletics ticket office or by clicking here to purchase online.
"Dusan got downhill a little bit," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "He started feeling it in the second half and had some driving lines."
Monday marked the second straight season opener that Neskovic scored 23 points, last season doing so at Fordham. Neskovic's 23 points were also the most by any nonconference opponent at Cameron Indoor Stadium Kevon Harris of Stephen F. Austin scored 26 on Nov. 26, 2019.
Junior Ryan Cornish added nine points, which included 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day scored six.Dusan Neskovic's 𝟐𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 last night were the most scored by a Duke opponent in the Blue Devils' home opener since 2013 + most scored by any nonconference opponent at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2019‼️#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/ptAWZuzYir
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 8, 2023
Kyle Filipowski scored a game-high 25 points for Duke, shooting 10-for-12 from the field.
"Early in the game, we started off being really physical," said Neskovic. "That was one of the keys that we had. That should have defined us throughout the game, and it didn't. The first few minutes, we were physical, rebounding and making them take tough shots. It worked in our favor and made them a little bit nervous on opening night. But we didn't maintain that level of physicality throughout 40 minutes."
The Blue Devils jumped out to early seven-point leads of 11-4 and 14-7, eventually reaching 18-9 after a Jaylen Blakes layup. Dartmouth answered with five straight points behind a Jayden Williams 3-pointer and a pair of Cornish free throws, pulling the Big Green within 18-14 with 8:16 on the first-half clock.
A few minutes later, sophomore Jackson Munro knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Big Green back within 25-19 with 5:27 left in the first, but Duke responded with an 8-0 run in less than two minutes of game action. A Jeremy Roach driving layup made the score 33-19 with 3:35 remaining in the half.
Dartmouth didn't score for the final 3:10 of the first half, and the Blue Devils reeled off nine unanswered points to head into halftime with a 42-21 lead.
"[Duke] made a couple shots against the zone," said McLaughlin. "They made threes [on consecutive possessions], which probably gave them a little confidence in terms of just moving the ball quickly. When you play a team like this on the road, a team that's this talented, it's not like you can play mistake-free basketball, but you need to really make sure you have solid offensive possessions every single time.
"When you're in a three four, five possession game and all of a sudden, it becomes seven or eight, that's a big deal, especially on the road," McLaughlin continued. "It's really, really hard to make up."
One minute into the second half, a Mitchell-Day 3-pointer pulled Dartmouth within 44-24. For a while, though, the teams traded baskets, with Neskovic scoring nine points in the first 5:06 of the second half. His first 3-pointer of the game, and season, pulled Dartmouth within 56-33.
A Neskovic layup got the Big Green back within 20, 63-43, with 11:04 on the clock. However, Duke answered with an 11-0 run to take a 74-43 lead, erasing any doubt. The Blue Devils' biggest lead came at the final horn. Senior Izaiah Robinson knocked down a tough jumper with 1:51 remaining, but the Blue Devils scored the final four points for the 92-54 final.
For the game, the Big Green shot 33.9 percent from the floor (19-of-56), including 22.2 percent from 3-point range (4-of-18). Duke finished at 64.4 percent (38-of-59) and 41.2 percent from behind the arc (7-fo-17). The Blue Devils held a slim 33-29 edge in rebounds, with Dartmouth holding a 10-5 edge in offensive boards. The Big Green finished with 13 turnovers compared to Duke's nine.
Dartmouth now looks ahead to its home opener, set for this Friday at 6 p.m. vs. UMass Lowell. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+ and Stretch Internet. Season and single-game tickets are available for purchase through the Dartmouth Athletics ticket office or by clicking here to purchase online.
Check out @DartCoachMac's postgame press confernece after tonight's game at Duke.#GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/oWTjZdw3tc
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 7, 2023
Dusan Neskovic after tonight's game at Duke.#GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/OxvKGXfwJy
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 7, 2023
We caught up with senior captain Robert McRae III after tonight's game at Duke.#GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/5pvKYSeGnt
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) November 7, 2023
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
Dart
DU
FG%
.339
.644
3FG%
.222
.412
FT%
.706
.750
RB
29
33
TO
13
9
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
11
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
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