Dartmouth Set to Host Cornell and Columbia This Weekend

Saturday, January 27

Hanover, N.H.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Brown

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Photo by: Chloe Broeker

Dartmouth Set to Host Cornell and Columbia This Weekend

2/1/2024 11:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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This weekend wraps up four straight home games for the Big Green

By: Justin Lafleur

GAME 18
Dartmouth (5-12, 1-3 Ivy League) vs. Cornell (15-3, 4-0 Ivy League)
Date: Friday, February 2, 2024 – 7 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
All-Time Series: Cornell, 114-110

GAME 19
Dartmouth (5-12, 1-3 Ivy League) vs. Columbia (10-7, 1-3 Ivy League)
Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024 – 6 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
All-Time Series: Columbia, 115-107

Setting the Scene
Following a thrilling win over Brown last weekend, the Dartmouth men's basketball team wraps up its four-game homestand with two home games this weekend. The Big Green host Cornell on Friday (7 p.m.) and Columbia on Saturday (6 p.m.). Dartmouth's 75-71 victory over the Bears pulled its Ivy League record to 1-3 and into a five-way tie for fourth place in the league standings.

Friday is PRIDE Night while Saturday is Youth Basketball Night. Anyone aged 17 or younger who wear a basketball jersey receive FREE admission to Saturday's game.

Last Saturday, the Bears jumped out to a 21-7 lead, but the Big Green began to chip away. Dartmouth was down by 11 at the half then made a furious second-half charge. The Big Green wound up scoring 49 second-half points to Brown's 34. After pulling within one midway through the second half, the Bears increased their lead back to seven at 65-58 with 5:57 remaining. But Dartmouth responded, outscoring Brown 17-6 down the stretch to pull out the big win. Sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, knocking down 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Included was a dominant final two minutes which saw him hit a go-ahead 3-pointer, then record a block and rebound on the other end. A couple possessions later with the score tied, he grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled before hitting two free throws, which proved to be the difference. Then in the final seconds, Mitchell-Day finished an emphatic dunk to get the Leede Arena crowd to its feet. In the end, Dartmouth's 14-point comeback win marked its first double-digit comeback victory since erasing a 13-point deficit at home vs. Penn on Jan. 14, 2023.

Mitchell-Day's 5-for-6 effort from behind the arc marked the Big Green's best 3-point percentage in a game with at least five makes since Dusan Neskovic was also 5-for-6 at Fordham on Nov. 7, 2022. It was also Dartmouth's first 20+ point, 10+ rebound double-double since Dame Adelekun last Jan. 28 vs. Columbia.

Neskovic finished Saturday with 20 points, his fourth 20+ point effort of the season. He was 7-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. As a team, the Big Green were 12-of-20 from 3-point range, their best percentage from behind the arc with at least 10 makes since Mar. 1, 2014 when they were also 12-for-20 against Cornell. With Mitchell-Day and Neskovic each reaching 20 points, it marked the first time since Jan. 21 of last season that two Big Green teammates scored 20+ in a game, when Ryan Cornish had 31 and Neskovic netted 24 at Princeton.

Sophomore Jackson Munro played a big role in the win as well, scoring nine points behind two traditional threes and an old-fashioned 3-point play. He also posted a game-high five assists, which tied a career high. Junior Romeo Myrthil's seven rebounds were a career high, along with eight points and a career-high four assists. Three different Big Green players had four or more assists, as senior Jaren Johnson dished four helpers as well.

The win over Brown was just Dartmouth's second in its last nine tries in the series, but the Big Green improved to 3-3 over the last six home games against the Bears. It was also head coach David McLaughlin's 250th win as collegiate head coach (including his time at Stonehill).

Since January 6 of last season, Dartmouth has now beaten all but one Ivy League team at least once, the only exception being Friday's opponent, Cornell. The Big Red are 15-3 on the season and 4-0 in the Ivy League, coming off a big home win over Princeton, who had just one total loss all season.

With a win on Friday (over Cornell)...
- The Big Green would snap a two-game losing streak against Cornell.
- Dartmouth would improve to 4-3 over its last seven games against the Big Red.
- Dartmouth would beat Cornell at home for the third time in its last four tries.
- The Big Green would improve to 12-12 over their last 24 Ivy League games since Feb. 17, 2022.
- Dartmouth would win back-to-back Ivy League games for the first time since last Jan. 14 and 16 when it beat Penn and Harvard.
- The Big Green would win back-to-back Ivy League home games for the first time since last season when they beat Penn on Jan. 14 and Columbia on Jan. 28.

With a win on Saturday (over Columbia)...
- The Big Green would beat Columbia for the sixth time in their last seven tries.
- Dartmouth would beat Columbia at home for an eighth straight time at home.

Last Time Out
HANOVER, N.H. (1/27/24) — Trailing by 14 in the first half and 11 at the half, the Dartmouth men's basketball team staged a furious comeback, outsourcing Brown 49-34 in the second half to beat the Bears, 75-71 on Saturday afternoon in Leede Arena. Sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day led the offense with a career-high 22 points, along with 10 rebounds for his third-career double-double, including an emphatic slam in the final seconds to put the game out of reach. The victory marked the 250th in David McLaughlin's career as collegiate head coach, including his time at Stonehill.

Scouting Cornell
Cornell enters the weekend with a 15-3 record, including 4-0 in the Ivy League. The Big Red's Ivy wins have come over Columbia, Penn and Princeton at home, along with a Jan. 20 road victory at Brown by an 84-83 final. In the Ivy League, the Lions began with losses at Cornell, at Yale and vs. Princeton before an 84-81 win over Penn last time out.

The Big Red stand 10th nationally in scoring offense (85.3) and 12th in 3-pointers per game (10.3). They're also first in bench points per game (39.17), third in effective field goal percentage (58.8), sixth in field goal percentage (50.5) and seventh in assists per game (18.7). All those numbers are also tops in the Ivy League. Individually, Cornell's leading scorer is Chris Manon, who averages only 11.7 points per game, but six players average between 8.9 and 11.7. Nazir Williams (10.9) and Isaiah Gray (10.6) are also in double figures.

All-Time Against the Big Red
Dartmouth and Cornell have split the last six meetings, with the Big Red victorious in three of the last four. Last season, the Big Red won in Hanover (74-63) and in Ithaca (95-83 in overtime). Overall, Cornell holds a slim 114-110 edge in the all-time series. After Dartmouth swept the season series in 2019-20, the teams split in 2021-22, with each winning on its home court. Dartmouth won the first three and five of the six all-time meetings vs. Cornell. The first meeting came in the first season of Dartmouth men's basketball, a 26-12 win on Jan. 18, 1901.

Scouting Columbia
Columbia has enjoyed a strong season, standing 10-7 overall and 1-3 in the Ivy League. The Lions posted a 9-4 nonleague record, which included six straight wins in November. Among the victories was at Temple, 78-73.

Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa leads the offense with 14.4 points per game, while Avery Brown comes in at 11.6 then Blair Thompson with 9.4. As a team, Columbia stands second in the Ivy League in scoring offense (79.9), only behind Cornell. The Lions are 11th nationally in assists per game (18.1) and 29th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5). They're also 20th in the country in free throw percentage (77.5).

All-Time Against the Lions
Dartmouth has won five of the last six meetings against Columbia and seven of the last nine to pull within 115-107 in the all-time series. Last season saw the Big Green win at home on Jan. 28, 2023 in a game which saw Dame Adelekun tie a Leede Arena record with 41 points. Columbia avenged the loss by beating the Big Green on Feb. 18. The year prior, Dartmouth swept the season series with a 76-63 road victory followed by a 79-50 win at home. Dartmouth has won seven straight against Columbia at home, with the last loss coming on Jan. 29, 2016 via a 77-60 final. The Big Green won the first-ever meeting between the two sides, 16-10 on Dec. 13, 1905. Columbia was victorious in the next meeting, 21-7 on Jan. 20, 1908

Taking Down the (BU) Terriers
Dartmouth beat Boston University, 63-54, on Wednesday, Dec. 13.

- The Big Green held the Terriers to their fewest points in the all-time series since a 64-53 Dartmouth win on Jan. 27, 1962 —19 games ago.
- Junior Romeo Myrthil was the story offensively for the Big Green, scoring a career-high 18 points on just seven field goal attempts (making five). He was 3-of-4 from 3-point range, including two 3-pointers as part of Dartmouth's 9-0 run to turn a 39-39 tie into a 48-39 lead. Thursday (Dec. 14) was Myrthil's birthday, but his home country of Sweden is six hours ahead of the Eastern time zone, so Myrthil's career performance came on his birthday… in Sweden.
- Dartmouth's 54 points allowed marked a season best.
- The win snapped Dartmouth's three-game losing streak against the Terriers and marked only the Big Green's second victory in their last six tries in the series.

Double Trouble
Sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day has three double-doubles this season.

- at Vermont (Nov. 29): 10 points, 10 rebounds
- at Saint Louis (Nov. 25): 17 points, 10 rebounds
- vs. Brown (Jan. 27): 22 points, 10 rebounds

At Vermont on Nov. 29, Mitchell-Day recorded his second straight double-double, becoming the first Dartmouth player to do so since Chris Knight in February of 2020. Knight actually did so in three straight games, posting 27 points and 13 rebounds vs. Princeton (Feb. 22), 17 and 13 at Cornell (Feb. 28) and 19 and 10 at Columbia (Feb. 29). Against Brown on Jan. 27, Mitchell-Day's 22-point, 10-rebound double-double marked the first of his career in Ivy League play and first 20-point, 10-rebound double-double in just under a year (since Dame Adelekeun's 41-point, 10-rebound double-double vs. Columbia on Jan. 28, 2023).

Granite State Supremacy
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, Dartmouth took as much as a 23-point second-half lead over UNH, easily cruising past the Wildcats, 76-64. Sophomore Jayden Williams led the offense with a career-high 28 points, knocking down eight 3-pointers on just 10 attempts; it marked Dartmouth's fifth straight game with a 20-point scorer.

The win came over a UNH team that entered 6-3 and without the Big Green's top two scorers due to injury, senior Dusan Neskovic and sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day. Williams' eight 3-pointers were just one from tying a program record and tied for the fifth most made threes in the nation this season. It was the most made triples by a Dartmouth player since Brendan Barry knocked down eight on Dec. 14, 2018 against Boston University. Williams also set career highs in rebounds (5), assists (4) and blocks (2) to help him earn Ivy League Player of the Week honors.

As a team, the Big Green knocked down a season-high 14 3-pointers. Dartmouth did not turn the ball over until 5:41 into the second half, finishing with just five, which were its fewest since also having five on Dec. 19, 2021 at Cal. UNH had just seven turnovers, as both teams took care of the basketball. The Big Green finished with 19 assists, a season high and most since last season's finale vs. Harvard.

Block Party
The Big Green tallied nine blocks on Dec. 2 at UAlbany, their most since Dec. 21, 2013 when they also had nine against Longwood. Juniors Nikola Dimitrijevic and Romeo Myrthil each posted a career-high four blocks, while senior Jaren Johnson recorded the other.

20-Point Notables...
- Senior Dusan Neskovic became the first Big Green player with 20 points in back-to-back road games since Brendan Barry in February of 2022. Barry had 25 at Yale (Feb. 4) followed by 21 at Brown (Feb. 5).
- Prior to Neskovic, the previous time a Big Green player scored 20 in back-to-back non-conference road games since Alex Barnett in 2008. Barnett scored 28 at Providence (Nov. 18) and 32 at Vermont (Dec. 2).
- As a team, the Big Green had a 20-point scorer in three of the first four games of the season (Neskovic 23 at Duke, sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day 20 vs. Westfield State and Neskovic 24 at Saint Louis), the first time that's happened since the 2008-09 season. That year, Barnett had all the 20-point games, posting 28 at Providence, 24 vs. Colgate and 24 against Furman.
- Dartmouth had a 20-point scorer in five consecutive games (vs. Westfield State, at Saint Louis, at Vermont, at UAlbany and vs. New Hampshire). It marked the first time since at least the turn of the century that the Big Green have had a 20-point scorer in six of the first seven games of the season.
- Against New Hampshire (Dec. 6), Jayden Williams' 28 points marked a season high for a Dartmouth player and the most by a Big Green player since Dame Adelekun scored 41 last Jan. 28 against Columbia.
- Mitchell-Day scored 22 points while Neskovic added 20 in Dartmouth's comeback win over Brown on Jan. 27, marking the first time since Jan. 21 of last season that two Big Green teammates scored 20+ in a game, when Ryan Cornish had 31 and Neskovic netted 24 at Princeton.
- Neskovic is up to four 20+ point games this season.

McRae III and Myrthil Named Captains
Dartmouth head men's basketball coach David McLaughlin announced that senior Robert McRae III and junior Romeo Myrthil will serve as the Big Green's team captains in 2023-24. The two will look to lead an experienced group that features seven returning players who led the team in scoring at least once this past season.

History in Cameron Indoor Stadium
In the season opener at Duke on Monday, Nov. 6, the Big Green were led by junior Dusan Neskovic, who scored 23 points for a second straight season opener (also 23 last Nov. 7 at Fordham). He scored 15 of those points in the second half at Duke, shooting 7-of-11 over the final 20 minutes. Neskovic finished 11-of-19 for the game, which included knocking down a second-half 3-pointer.
- Neskovic's 23 points were the most scored by a Duke opponent in the Blue Devils' home opener since Davidson's De'Mon Brooks scored 24 on Nov. 8, 2013.
- It was also the most scored by any non-conference opponent at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium since Kevon Harris of Stephen F. Austin had 26 on Nov. 26, 2019.

Scoring Output
Seven different Big Green players have led the team in scoring this season.

Dusan Neskovic: 7 - at Duke (11/6), at Saint Louis (11/25), at Vermont (11/29), vs. UAlbany (12/2), at Sacred Heart (12/21), at Vanderbilt (tied) (12/30), vs. Yale (1/20)
Brandon Mitchell-Day: 4 - vs. Westfield State (11/15), at Vanderbilt (tied) (12/30), at Princeton (1/15), vs. Brown (1/27)
Jaren Johnson: 2 - vs. UMass Lowell (11/10), at Le Moyne (tied) (12/16)
Ryan Cornish: 2 - vs. Marist (12/9), at Penn (1/6)
Jayden Williams: 1 - vs. New Hampshire (12/6)
Romeo Myrthil: 1 - vs. Boston University (12/13)
Connor Christensen: 1 - vs. Thomas College (12/18)
Nikola Dimitrijevic: 1 - at Le Moyne (tied) (12/16)

Sustained Success
Since Feb. 17, 2022, the Big Green are tied for the fourth best record in the league in Ivy League games (regular season or postseason).

Princeton: 19-5
Yale: 19-6
Cornell: 13-10
Dartmouth: 11-12
Penn: 11-12
Brown: 9-13
Harvard: 8-15
Columbia: 2-20

International Experience
Four members of the Big Green hail from outside of the United States — Dusan Neskovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Romeo Myrthil (Sweden), Nikola Dimitrijevic (Serbia) and Ben Brown (England). Neskovic is the first Big Green player from Banja Luka since Vedad Osmanovic '02, who scored 697 points. The four international players are tied with the 2021-22 team for the most international players on a Dartmouth men's basketball roster.

Follow Along
Both games this weekend can be seen live on ESPN+ with Brett Franklin and former Big Green head coach Dave Faucher on the call. An audio broadcast will also be available on DartmouthSports.com with Steve Goldberg on the call Friday and Brandon Bojarsky Saturday.

What's Ahead?
Following this weekend, Dartmouth hits the road next Saturday to face Harvard at 2 p.m.