Early Offensive Explosion Not Enough in 89-80 Loss at Cornell

Saturday, February 17

Ithaca, N.Y. / Newman Arena

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-17,1-8Ivy League

Cornell

19-4,8-1Ivy League

Dartmouth

Cornell

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Early Offensive Explosion Not Enough in 89-80 Loss at Cornell

2/17/2024 10:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Five Big Green scored double-figures points for the first two in two seasons

By: Justin Lafleur

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Dartmouth men's basketball team opened a 43-29 lead with 5:35 left in the first half, but the high-powered Cornell offense closed the half on a 21-4 run to take a 50-47 halftime lead, on the way to defeating the Big Green, 89-80 on Saturday evening inside Newman Arena. Five Dartmouth players finished with double-figure points for the first time since Feb. 26, 2022. Senior Dusan Neskovic led the way with 23 points, one shy of tying his career high.

With the win, Cornell improves to 19-4 and 8-1 in the Ivy League. Dartmouth falls to 5-17 and 1-8 in the league.

"I thought we responded off not a great performance last night," said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. "We had a heck of a trip getting here and weren't in bed until about 3:30 in the morning. We talked about playing with energy, playing with passion, playing for each other. I thought we did that for a good portion of the first half. Cornell as they do, ended the half on a run."

The first half saw Dartmouth knock down 9-of-13 from 3-point range, with Neskovic 3-for-5 and sophomore Jayden Williams 3-for-3. Williams scored all 13 of his points in the first half, finishing the game 3-of-5 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Sophomores Brandon Mitchell-Day and Jackson Munro each scored 12 points. Munro added nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists, coming just one rebound and three assists shy of a triple-double. It also marked Munro's fourth time in the last six games with at least five assists.

The Big Green's 80 points marked a season high.

Senior Jaren Johnson added 10 points, his third straight game in double figures. Chris Manon led Cornell with 25 points.

Less than three minutes into the contest, the game had five 3-pointers — three from Cornell and two from Dartmouth. The Big Green took their first lead after a Munro layup, giving Dartmouth a 10-9 lead.

A Jake Fiegen layup gave Cornell an 18-14 advantage with 13:52 left in the first half. Dartmouth responded with a 9-0 run, with Mitchell-Day scoring five straight points via a fastbreak dunk and 3-pointer, before a Robert McRae III three gave the Big Green a 23-18 lead.

Robert McRae III with the 3-pointer off a GREAT pass from Abusara to give the Big Green a 5-point lead!

Watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/lrm4sl8obm #TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/qzXvMoM7vH
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 17, 2024

The Big Red pulled within 28-25 midway through the first half, setting the stage for an even bigger Dartmouth rally. The Big Green staged a 15-4 run, with Neskovic scoring nine points via two 3-pointers and an old-fashioned 3-point play. Dartmouth took its largest lead of the game after Neskovic's aggressive drive and emphatic slam over a Cornell defender. After the free throw, the Big Green led 43-29 with 5:35 remaining in the first half.

🚨 We've got a poster alert 🚨

Dusan Neskovic with the 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 finish on top of a defender 😤 @SportsCenter, you may want to check this out…#SCTop10 | @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/RaOU9vW05V
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 17, 2024

Cornell's answer came in the form of a 21-4 run. A Nazir Williams 3-pointer with 45 seconds on the clock gave the Big Red a 50-47 halftime lead.

With Dartmouth down eight early in the second half, Romeo Myrthil finished a dunk over a defender. Then, 30 seconds later, Neskovic knocked down a 3-pointer to pull the Big Green within the halftime margin, 55-52.

Romeo Myrthil getting into the dunk party 💪

Watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/lrm4sl8obm #TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/rTb5kKTeFj
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 18, 2024

A few minutes later, a Munro 3-pointer pulled the Big Green within 61-59 with 15:18 on the clock and less than a minute after that, a Johnson layup got Dartmouth within 63-61.

An 8-1 Cornell run gave the Big Red a 72-62 lead. The Big Red advantaged eventually reached 14 with 8:10 remaining and 15 with 3:34 on the clock. Dartmouth held Cornell scoreless over the game's final 2:44 and without a field goal for the final 3:34, but it proved too little, too late.

For the game, the Big Green shot 49.1 percent from the floor (26-of-53) and 48.1 percent from 3-point range (13-of-27). Cornell finished at 45.9 percent (30-of-64) and 33.3 percent from behind the arc (12-of-36). The Big Red held a 35-32 edge in rebounds. Seventeen Dartmouth turnovers hurt compared to just seven for Cornell.

"We talk about sharing the juices and we talk about guys executing and playing together," said McLaughlin. "All this [tonight] did was say when we play with passion, we play together and we play aggressively, a lot of guys can contribute out there."

The Big Green will return home next weekend to host Penn on Friday and Princeton on Saturday. Game times are set for 7 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively. Saturday will be Senior Night. To purchase tickets, head to DartmouthSports.com/Tickets.

"We need to have a really good Monday and set the tone for the week," said McLaughlin. "When I was done talking with the team, that was the last message. Let's have a good Monday, set the tone for a good week and defend our home court next weekend."