Big Green Can’t Come All the Way Back in 76-58 Loss at Princeton

Monday, January 15

Princeton, N.J. / Jadwin Gymnasium

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

4-11,0-2Ivy League

Princeton

14-1,2-0Ivy League

Dartmouth

Princeton

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Big Green Can’t Come All the Way Back in 76-58 Loss at Princeton

1/15/2024 6:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

After trailing 25-10, Dartmouth outscored Princeton 42-36 over the next 26:34 to give itself a chance deep into the second half

By: Justin Lafleur

PRINCETON, N.J. — Hot shooting in the early going helped Princeton open a 25-10 lead, but the Dartmouth men's basketball team wouldn't quit, pulling as close as nine in the second half before falling short, 76-58 on Monday afternoon inside Jadwin Gymnasium. Two Dusan Neskovic 3-pointers in 37 seconds pulled the Big Green within single digits at 61-52 with 6:04 still remaining, but the Tigers ended the game on a 15-6 run to erase any doubt.

With the loss, the Big Green fall to 4-11 and 0-2 in the Ivy League. Princeton improves to 14-1 and 2-0 in the Ivy.

"Princeton is an excellent team, a high-octane offensive team," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "They know who they are and have some extremely talented players. You can't get down 25-10, regardless if some of those shots were tough shots. Now, you're digging out for the rest of the half.

"[From there], I thought we really found our identity at both ends of the floor," McLaughlin continued. "We cut it to nine and had to make a few more plays."

With the Big Green dealing with some injuries, senior Izaiah Robinson seized his opportunity and finished with a career-high 13 points. Sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting ewhile Neskovic tallied 12 points.

"The group was still fighting, still trying to be competitive," said Robinson. "We have a motto where no one cares about the circumstance or situation. We stuck to that to get back into the game."

Defensively, the Big Green found their groove. After Princeton scored 25 points in the first 7:23, Dartmouth held the Tigers to 51 the rest of the contest (in 32:37 of game action). In the end, the Big Green held Princeton below its season average entering the game of 78.9, holding the Tigers to their lowest point total in more than a month (since Dec. 10 at Saint Joseph's).

Dartmouth held Princeton leading scorer Xaivian Lee scoreless in the first half. Lee scored 16 in the second, which was still below his season average of 18.1 entering the game. It marked his fewest points in a Division I game since scoring 15 on Nov. 29 at Bucknell (eight games ago). It was also Lee's lowest point total in a home game against a Division I opponent this season (Lee had four points in each of Princeton's games against Division III opponents, but coming in just five and 14 minutes of action). Lee's four made field goals tied a season low against a Division I opponent this season, home or away.

Matt Allocco led Princeton with 25 points and five assists on the afternoon, knocking down 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Cade Pierce added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

A Robinson jumper pulled the Big Green within 10-8 with 16:10 on the first-half clock while just over a minute later, a Mitchell-Day layup pulled Dartmouth within 13-10. Princeton answered in a big way, staging a 12-0 run in just over two minutes of game action to take a 25-10 advantage.

Dartmouth responded with a 7-0 run, beginning with a Robinson 3-pointer and including a Nikola Dimitrijevic dunk and Jaren Johnson basket to get the Big Green back within 25-17 with 9:20 still remaining in the first.

The Tigers' lead slowly increased back to 16 at 35-19. But another 7-0 run, featuring five points from junior Romeo Myrthil with a Mitchell-Day dunk sandwiched in between, got Dartmouth within 35-26 with 3:55 remaining in the first.

Brandon Mitchell-Day had a pair of first-half dunks, including this quick move to drop a defender then finish with authority!

Watch the second half on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/dCZoZbc0QX #GoBigGreen | #SCTop10 | @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/fze9kDcz8A
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) January 15, 2024

Princeton would score the final three first-half points, all from the free throw line, to take a 43-30 lead after 20 minutes of play.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Princeton's lead reached 16 again at 48-32. From there, the Big Green began to slowly chip away. For much of the second half, Dartmouth's deficit stood in the low teens. Trailing 61-46 heading into the final seven minutes, Neskovic connected on 3-pointers in back-to-back possessions, with 6:41 and 6:04 on the clock, to get the Big Green within single digits for the first time since the first half.

However, Princeton went on to score 10 straight points to turn a 66-55 lead into a 76-55 advantage. First-year Patrick Tivnan Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer in the final seconds, marking his first-career made field goal, but it was too little, too late.

For the game, the Big Green shot 43.1 percent from the floor (22-of-51), including 41.2 percent from 3-point range (7-of-17). Princeton finished at 45.1 percent (23-of-51) and 42.3 percent from behind the arc (11-of-26). The Tigers held a slim 31-29 edge in rebounds.

"At some levels, it was progress," said McLaughlin. "We have to get healthy. We need to have a good week. This was a good test; we learned a lot about ourselves this afternoon."

The Big Green return home for the first time in nearly a month when they host Yale this Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at DartmouthSports.com/tickets. The game can also be seen on ESPN+, with a Dartmouth audio only broadcast also available.