Late Marist Run Sends Dartmouth to 63-53 Defeat

Saturday, December 9

Hanover, N.H.

4:00 PM

Dartmouth College

2-6,0-0Ivy League

Marist

6-2,2-0MAAC

Marist

Dartmouth

Ryan Cornish led the Big Green with 14 points.

Photo by: Kyle Relf

Late Marist Run Sends Dartmouth to 63-53 Defeat

12/9/2023 5:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Ryan Cornish led the Big Green with 14 points

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — Romeo Myrthil hit a bucket down low to give Dartmouth a one-point lead with 5:34 to play, but visiting Marist outscored Dartmouth, 15-4, the rest of the way to take a 63-53 decision at Leede Arena on Saturday afternoon. Josh Pascarelli led the Red Foxes (6-2) with 26 points thanks to six 3-pointers, while Ryan Cornish provided 14 to pace the Big Green (2-6).

Dartmouth faced an uphill battle in the second half after going into the locker room trailing by 11, 34-23. But the Big Green gradually chipped away at their deficit, using the long ball to claw their way back. Four of their first five buckets after halftime came from behind the arc as Jayden Williams (coming off a career-high 28-point night on Wednesday) bookended triples by Jaren Johnson and Jackson Munro with two of his own, closing the gap to six at 43-37.

Myrthil then drove the lane to get to the rim for a basket before Pascarelli rained down a 3-pointer, keeping Dartmouth at bay. But five more buckets in the paint — including three by Cornish — fueled a 10-1 Big Green run that the 6-2 Swedish guard Myrthil capped with a hook shot from the edge of the lane for a 49-48 Dartmouth lead.

Romeo's turn to get to the rim!

At the under 12 break, down by 7 at 46-39.

Watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/WekBRzKrlM #GoBigGreen | #TheWoods🌲 pic.twitter.com/XxJOwr3y7H
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 9, 2023

Unfortunately for the Big Green, that would be their last field goal of the contest. Their advantage did not last long as Max Allen II, who scored 12 in the game, provided three points the hard way at the other end of the court, kick starting a 14-2 Marist run to which Pascarelli contributed eight points with two more long balls. The lone Big Green points to interrupt the scoring outburst were a pair of free throws by Williams.

"When you're down 11 to start the second half, while there is no such thing as mistake-free basketball, you have to play at a pretty high level, which we did for a majority of the second half," Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin said following the game. "But we just made some mistakes that really cost us, whether it was not taking care of the ball in a timely way, or maybe not making an open look, which is going to happen, or missing an assignment on defense, or a timely offensive rebound by them. It's one of those things where if you're not the tougher team and you find yourself in a hole, you have to play at a really, really high level to win that game."

The game began well for the Green as they jumped out to a 12-5 lead with rainmakers courtesy of Johnson and Williams, plus a Cornish drive to the iron that caused Marist head coach John Dunne to call a timeout after just five-and-a-half minutes of action. The timeout was just what the team needed, apparently, as the Red Foxes proceeded to score the next 14 points, six coming on two of Kam Farris' three trifectas of the game, for a sudden 19-12 edge.

McLaughlin countered with his own timeout, and after Cornish broke the run with another driving layup, the difference remained between three and six points for more than seven minutes. It looked like Dartmouth might gain some momentum when Williams slashed to the rim and stirred the crowd of 619 with a two-hand jam while getting fouled with 4:21 left in the half. But Marist countered with the final seven points of the stanza to take its 34-23 lead into the intermission.

Jayden Williams going STRONG! Final break of the first half, we trail by 4, 27-23.

Watch on@ESPNPlus: https://t.co/WekBRzKrlM #GoBigGreen | #TheWoods 🌲 pic.twitter.com/ibgruj6Etq
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 9, 2023

"We need to have a tough check," Cornish said. "We obviously weren't the tougher team in that game, and having to get that type of check mid-game can't happen. We want to get these type of mistakes out early in the season. I feel like we played unselfishly on offense and moved the ball pretty well, we do need to hit a few more shots, but we need to have fewer breakdowns on defense. So we're just going to clean it up and be ready for the next game."

Dartmouth finished the game shooting 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from the floor and 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from distance compared to 44.0 percent (22-of-50) overall and 35.7 percent (10-of-28) on 3-pointers for the Red Foxes. Cornish was 5-of-12 shooting and 4-of-6 from the line for his 14 points, while Williams added 13.

Pascarelli, a rookie who was averaging 7.9 points after a 16-point performance last Sunday, was 6-of-12 behind the arc and 10-of-18 from the floor for his career-high 26 points. He also added seven rebounds while Javon Cooley led Marist with eight as the visitors enjoyed a 34-30 edge on the glass. Connor Christensen led Dartmouth with six caroms.

The Big Green will conclude their three-game homestand on Wednesday evening when Boston University (3-6 entering Sunday's game at Wagner) comes to Hanover for a 7 p.m. tip. The contest will be televised on NESN in the region and streamed live on ESPN+ with Brett Franklin and Dave Faucher providing commentary, while Brandon Bojarsky will call the action on a free audio stream through DartmouthSports.com, the official website of Dartmouth Athletics. Fans can also purchase tickets on the website or call the Dartmouth Ticket Office at 603-646-2466.

Notes: Marist is 6-2 all-time against Dartmouth in a series that began exactly 40 years ago … the Big Green played without a pair of starters in guard Dusan Neskovic and forward Brandon Mitchell-Day — their two leading scorers — for the second straight game. Their status is day-to-day … Marist was also without one of its starters in guard Isaiah Brickner.

Thoughts from @DartCoachMac following today's loss against Marist.#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods 🌲 pic.twitter.com/Fcp9jJWEKi
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) December 10, 2023