Valiant Effort Not Enough in Loss to Princeton on Senior Night

Saturday, February 24

Hanover, N.H.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-19,1-10Ivy League

Princeton

21-3,9-2Ivy League

Princeton

Dartmouth

Photo by: Chloe Broeker

Valiant Effort Not Enough in Loss to Princeton on Senior Night

2/24/2024 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Big Green led by as much as nine in the first half, but the Tigers stormed back

By: Justin Lafleur

HANOVER, N.H. — On its Senior Night, the entire Dartmouth men's basketball senior class was in the starting lineup and helped the Big Green open a halftime lead, but Princeton came back with a vengeance to win, 68-56, on Saturday inside Leede Arena. After the Tigers opened a 12-point halftime advantage, Dartmouth cut its deficit to as close as six with 2:56 remaining, but Princeton ended the game on an 8-2 run to wrap up the victory. Senior Dusan Neskovic led Dartmouth with 20 points, his third straight 20+ point effort, fourth in the last five game and eighth this season.

Neskovic is the first Big Green player with three consecutive 20-point games since Evan Boudreaux in February of 2016.

With the win, Princeton improves to 21-3 and 9-2 in the Ivy League. Dartmouth falls to 5-19 and 1-10.

"There's no moral victories," said Big Green head coach David McLaughlin. "I was proud of our guys, especially the way they started the game. With our four seniors out there, they played to win and played with no fear of failure. I thought we stayed very aggressive offensively in the first half; we were catching to score. Their zone gave us a couple hiccups, but I thought for the most part, we played really, really well in the first half."

Before the game, the program's four seniors, along with head student manager Sriyash Erra, were recognized. The seniors all started, and wouldn't disappoint. Neskovic's 20 points came on 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He is now 14-of-25 from three over his last three games. Jaren Johnson scored 11 points, the fourth time in his last five games in double figures. Izaiah Robinson scored eight points while Robert McRae III added two points, two rebounds and two assists.

"We (seniors) just got together and said we want to go out playing how we want to play with no regrets," said Johnson. "We only get to live this life once. We grew up together out here in college, and we wouldn't have made it through it without each other. We're going to give it our all and leave it out there on the floor."

Sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day added eight points and five rebounds off the bench, with Jayden Williams scoring six.

Caden Pierce led Princeton with 22 points. For the second time this season, the Big Green held Tigers' leading scorer Xavian Lee several points below his season average. Averaging more than 18 points per game, Lee scored 14 on Saturday on 5-of-14 shooting. Two of Lee's three lowest point totals in Ivy League play have come against the Big Green.

Just 11 seconds into the contest, Neskovic knocked down a 3-pointer. He went on to score eight of Dartmouth's first 10 points, leading into Johnson's first points of the game, a 3-pointer to give the Big Green a 13-11 lead with 14:54 on the first-half clock. A few minutes later, Dartmouth reeled off a 10-2 run, capped off by five Williams points in the span of 38 seconds. A Williams fastbreak layup gave Dartmouth a 25-18 lead, forcing a Princeton timeout with 9:08 left in the first half.

Awesome start here in Leede! Big Green lead by seven more than midway through the first half.

Watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/6k96BlMbX5 #TheWoods | #GoBigGreen🌲 pic.twitter.com/2tE8AeRiux
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 24, 2024

"The team is real tight-knit and together," said McRae III. "Everybody supports each other through all of this. The guys came together, all the seniors, and we said look, let's get the ball, let's push, be aggressive and go at them. When we came out, guys were doing that. It fit the flow of the game and guys were having fun."

The Big Green wound up holding the Tigers scoreless for a stretch of 6:03 and without a field goal for 10:18. In that time, Dartmouth opened a nine-point lead after a Robinson layup gave the Big Green a 29-20 advantage with 4:52 remaining in the first. A Pierce 3-pointer with 2:42 on the clock pulled Princeton within 32-27, marking the Tigers' first field goal since a Matt Allocco three at the 13:00 mark.

A Robinson jumper gave Dartmouth a 34-30 lead, which proved to be the halftime score.

Early in the second half, a Neskovic layup gave the Big Green their four-point lead back at 39-35, but Princeton responded with a 16-1 run. Dalen Davis capped off the rally with two 3-pointers in the span of 35 seconds to put the Tigers in front, 51-40.

Trailing 54-42, the Big Green slowly chipped away, as a Mitchell-Day 3-pointer pulled Dartmouth within eight with 6:58 still remaining. Just over two minutes later, a Neskovic trey got Dartmouth within 60-53 before a Johnson free throw pulled the Big Green within two possessions. But six was as close as they would come, as Princeton increased its lead back to 14, on the way to the 68-56 final.

Neskovic three gets the Big Green back within seven. Dartmouth still very much in this one.

Watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/6k96BlMbX5 #TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/NqnpPjny8U
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) February 25, 2024

"In the beginning of the second half, they made a couple looks and I thought we had a couple communication breakdowns, which took a little bit of the air out of our sails," said McLaughlin. "And then, they got us out of rhythm by staying with man, then going to their 1-3-1. We weren't able to get the catch-and-shoot shots or the attacks that we had in the first half."

For the game, Dartmouth shot 43.5 percent from the floor (20-of-46), including 38.1 percent from 3-point range (8-of-21). The Big Green began the night 5-of-6 from behind the arc. Princeton finished at 42.3 percent (22-of-52), its fourth lowest field goal percentage in Ivy League play, and 28.6 percent from three (10-of-35). Final rebounds were tied at 30. Dartmouth had 14 turnovers to the Tigers' seven.

The Big Green return to the court next weekend when they travel to Yale on Friday (7 p.m.) and Brown on Saturday (6 p.m.). Dartmouth will return home for the season finale on Tuesday night, Mar. 5 at against Harvard.

"It's a really good group of guys," said McLaughlin. "The seniors are going to have a lasting legacy here in a lot of ways, both within the program and within the Dartmouth community. We're not done; we still need to continue to play hard and those guys will lead the way."