Dartmouth Falls Just Short in Overtime at Cornell

Friday, February 17

Ithaca, N.Y. / Newman Arena

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

9-16,5-6Ivy League

Cornell

16-8,6-5Ivy League

OT 1

Dartmouth

Cornell

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Dartmouth Falls Just Short in Overtime at Cornell

2/17/2023 10:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

With three games remaining, the Big Green are one game behind Cornell and Brown in fourth place

By: Justin Lafleur

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Dartmouth men's basketball team scored nine of the final 13 points of regulation to force overtime, and nearly won it on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but the Big Green offense went cold in the extra session as Cornell defeated Dartmouth, 95-82, on Friday evening in Newman Arena. A game of runs saw the Big Green use an 11-0 first-half run to turn an eight-point deficit into a three-point lead. Dartmouth also began the second half on a 10-2 run to take a two-point advantage, but the Big Red proved too much in the end.

With the win, Cornell sweeps the season series with Dartmouth and improves to 16-8 overall and 6-5 in the Ivy League. Dartmouth falls to 9-16 and 5-6 in the league.

"It was a fight," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "It was a fight both ways. When you get to this time of year, games are very important and you saw good basketball in a lot of ways from both team. I thought our guys made quite the run at the end and we put ourselves in a position to win the game. They got a nice stop on the last possession and we had a decent look that went in and out.

Want to see how close the Big Green were to winning in regulation? Check out the defensive stop and Dame Adelekun 3-pointer that ALMOST went down.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/6iwDsliQPX
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 18, 2023

"When we got to overtime, the first one or two possessions didn't go our way and I thought we lost our steam and our togetherness a little bit," McLaughlin continued. "That's what I talked to the guys about after the game. You've got to stay together, stay tough. It's a learning experience and we have to regroup because we have a good opponent tomorrow on the road."

Junior Dusan Neskovic and sophomore Ryan Cornish each scored 19 points to lead the Big Green. They struggled a bit from the floor, shooting a combined 9-of-27, including 5-of-17 from 3-point range. Junior Jaren Johnson enjoyed a strong effort, posting 11 points, which included a career-high three 3-pointers (on six attempts). Senior Dame Adelekun just missed a double-double, posting nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, while adding 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Freshman Brandon Mitchell-Day made a big impact, recording nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, a block and steal.

Twenty two Big Green turnovers hurt against Cornell's aggressive defense, with 11 coming in the second half and two in overtime.

Nazir Williams led the way for Cornell with a game-high 27 points.

Dartmouth jumped out to an early 10-5 lead following an Adelekun 3-pointer, his third three in the last two games. Cornell responded with 12 of the next 17 points to take its first lead at 17-15 after a Greg Dolan fastbreak layup with 13:06 on the clock.

Five Big Red points in 22 seconds capped off an 8-0 surge and gave Cornell a 25-17 lead with 11:14 on the clock, but Dartmouth had an answer coming out of a timeout. A trio of 3-pointers — from Johnson, Cornish and sophomore Romeo Myrthil — highlighted an 11-0 run, as Myrthil's trey put the Big Green back in front, 28-25, with 8:22 on the first-half clock.

7:59 1st | WHAT AN ANSWER! The Big Green answer Cornell's 7-0 run with a 11-0 run, as this Myrthil 3-pointer gives Dartmouth a 28-25 lead!

📺: @ESPNPlus
: https://t.co/3jyu532Nui
📊: https://t.co/cDFT24fLD4 #TheWoods🌲| #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/qRk7JHzxm5
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 17, 2023

The rest of the half saw multiple ties and lead changes. Late in the half, both offenses went cold from the floor, but found points from the free throw line. During that time, Cornell slowly built its lead to as much as six. A Jackson Munro layup pulled the Big Green within 42-39 with 21 seconds remaining, but Williams got a friendly bounce on a step back 3-pointer as the first-half clock expired. That gave Cornell a 45-39 halftime advantage.

Dartmouth's 10-2 run to begin the second half included points from four different Big Green players. Neskovic began with a 3-point play, while Johnson knocked down his third three of the game, Cornish finished a layup and Adelekun had a dunk off a great pass from Myrthil. When all was said and done, the Big Green were back ahead, 49-47, less than three minutes into the stanza.

15:55 2nd | Jaren Johnson's third 3-pointer of the game has highlighted a strong start to the second half! A Dame dunk gave the Big Green a brief lead and Cornell now leads, 51-49.

📺: @ESPNPlus
: https://t.co/3jyu532Nui
📊: https://t.co/cDFT24fLD4 #TheWoods🌲| #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/9We1C4EiP0
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 18, 2023

The ensuing minutes saw five ties and six lead changes, with neither side leading by more than two. As the second half progressed, Cornell's advantage reached four on multiple occasions before it reached six as two Isaiah Gray free throws made the score 72-66 with 6:02 remaining.

With Cornell leading 76-71 with 3:22 remaining, two Cornish free throws and a Neskovic 3-pointer quickly evened the score at 76 with 2:22 on the clock — the first tie in nearly five minutes. A Big Red 3-pointer immediately but them back ahead, but Cornish found Adelekun for an easy dunk to pull even at 80 with 16 seconds left in regulation.

This Ryan Cornish ➡️ Dame Adelekun connection to force overtime was a thing of beauty#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/kml9maCcoQ
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 18, 2023

Following a timeout, the Big Green got a defensive stop, which nearly led to a buzzer-beating victory, but Adelekun's shot wouldn't stay down.

The Big Green struggled in overtime, shooting just 1-of-9 from the floor, including 1-of-6 from 3-point range. Cornell scored the first 12 points to take a 92-80 advantage and wouldn't look back.

For the game, the Big Green shot 44.1 percent from the floor (26-of-59), including 36.7 percent from 3-point range (11-of-30). Cornell finished at 48.4 percent (31-of-64) and 41.7 percent from behind the arc (10-of-24). The Big Red held a 37-35 edge in rebounds.

Dartmouth will look to bounce back in 24 hours with a critical game at Columbia on Saturday. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Hear from head coach David McLaughlin following tonight's overtime loss at Cornell.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/RYRVWu2FtV
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 18, 2023