Le Moyne Pulls Away in Second Half to Beat Shorthanded Big Green

Saturday, December 16

Syracuse, N.Y. / Henninger Athletic Center

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

3-7,0-0Ivy League

Le Moyne

4-7,0-0NEC

Dartmouth

Le Moyne

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Le Moyne Pulls Away in Second Half to Beat Shorthanded Big Green

12/16/2023 5:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

Jaren Johnson and Nikola Dimitrijevic each scored 12 points to lead Dartmouth offensively

By: Justin Lafleur

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Dartmouth men's basketball team ended the first half on a 13-4 run to pull even, but Le Moyne used a 15-0 second-half run to turn a 3-point Dolphins' lead into an 18-point advantage, on the way to beating the Big Green, 80-54 on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court. Dartmouth was playing without its top three scorers — senior Dusan Neskovic and sophomores Brandon Mitchell-Day and Jayden Williams — due to injury. It's a group that has combined for nearly 40 points per game on the season, which is just under two thirds of Dartmouth's offensive output. Le Moyne connected on 15 3-pointers on the afternoon, which proved critical.

With the loss, Dartmouth falls to 3-7 while Le Moyne improves to 4-7.

"It was a three-point game with about 13 minutes left and over the next seven-minute span, they made five threes and we had four turnovers," said Big Green head coach David McLaughlin. "They made a couple tough shots, but also a couple clean ones. I think our lack of taking of the ball on the offensive end affected our defensive intensity for that run, and then you're playing catchup on the road, which is always hard."

The Big Green were led offensively by senior Jaren Johnson and junior Nikola Dimitrijevic, who each scored 12 points. Johnson was 5-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, while adding a career-high three steals. Nikola Dimitrijevic shot 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. His 12 points marked a career high against a Division I opponent.

Le Moyne was led by Luke Sutherland, who scored 24 points, and Kaiyem Cleary, who added 19.

The Big Green led 5-0, then 8-7 after Johnson's second 3-pointer of the early going. However, the Dolphins scored 12 of the next 16 points, as a Sutherland dunk gave Le Moyne a 19-12 lead midway through the first half.

Soft touch from Dimitrijevic gets the Big Green within 15-12 at the under-12 media timeout.

Watch on @NECFrontRow: https://t.co/dR07AQkc4O #TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/giFAG7KFNR
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 16, 2023

The Dolphins' lead reached as much as nine, 32-23, following a Trent Mosquera 3-pointer with 4:15 on the first-half clock. But the Big Green answered with a 13-4 run, including 9-2 to end the half, to pull even at 36 after 20 minutes of play. Johnson ended the half with a strong individual effort to get free before knocking down the jump shot.

Jaren Johnson takes it himself to end the half and pull the Big Green even!

Watch on @NECFrontRow: https://t.co/dR07AQkc4O #TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/4KPaZYHfs3
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 16, 2023

Early in the second half, a Ryan Cornish 3-pointer play evened the score at 41, but Le Moyne answered with 22 of the next 26 points, including a 15-0 run, to break the game open. A Nate McClure 3-pointer put the Dolphins ahead, 63-45, with 7:28 on the clock.

The Big Ground wound up going 7:09 without a point and couldn't bounce back. Despite two Dimitrijevic baskets in the span of 36 seconds late, the Dolphins' lead kept increasing, standing 80-54 at the final horn.

After shooting 50.0 percent in the first half, Dartmouth shot just 21.4 percent in the second to finish at 35.7 percent for the game (20-of-56). Le Moyne finished at 53.4 percent (31-of-58), including 45.5 percent from behind the arc (15-of-33). The Big Green shot just 17.9 percent from three (5-of-28). Dartmouth had 17 turnovers, which hurt, compared to Le Moyne's 14. The Dolphins finished with a 35-32 edge in rebounds. Dartmouth turned the ball over 17 times to Le Moyne's 14.

"Our guys battled at the end of the first half to tie it up and I thought we came out fairly strong in the beginning of the second half, but really couldn't withstand that run," said McLaughlin. "We have to do a lot of things better at both sides of the ball, and that's on me and the staff to get us there.

"We also have to get healthy," McLaughlin continued. "It's hard to come on the road when you're missing three starters. As much as I thought the guys played hard and tried to play together, it's just hard when you're missing guys. We have to rebound from this and be ready to go on Monday. We've got to have a good start to the week."

After Saturday's game, the Big Green have a quick turnaround when they host Thomas College on Monday night. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Leede Arena and tickets are available at DartmouthSports.com/tickets. The game can also be seen on ESPN+, with a Dartmouth audio only broadcast also available.

Hear from @DartCoachMac after today's defeat at Le Moyne.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/J4CJGiRXRu
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 16, 2023