Now, only one contest remains. The Dartmouth Big Green men’s basketball team made their final weekend road trip, with contests at Yale University and Brown University on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
In New Haven, Conn., the story was more of the same. After the score was tied 7-7 with 14 minutes and 47 seconds left in the first half, Yale never looked back. The Bulldogs fired off a 12-3 run, sparked by sophomore forward Nick Townsend, who had 11 points on Friday night.
Yale ultimately ended up leading the Big Green by nine at the break and edging Dartmouth by 15 in the first half to come away with an 80-56 victory.
Jaren Johnson ’24 led the scoring for Dartmouth with 12 points, shooting five-for-five from the field and two-for-two from the charity stripe. Johnson also snagged 10 rebounds and, in the process, recorded his first-ever double-double in a Dartmouth uniform.
“[Johnson] has a mature approach,” head coach David McLaughlin said. “As a point guard, you need to have a mature approach; he lets the game come to him. I thought he was in good attack mode today and really took what the defense gave him, didn’t force a ton and got the ball in the paint when needed. One of our points of emphasis was on rebounding. I thought he did a good job, especially at the point guard position getting on the defensive glass.”
Junior guard John Poulakidas led the scoring for the Bulldogs, tallying 16 points on six-for-12 shooting from the floor.
On Saturday Night, the Big Green made the trip to Providence, R.I. to take on the Brown Bears. In their previous meeting, Dartmouth defeated Brown 75-71, their only win in Ivy League play this season.
On Saturday night, the script was a little different. The score was tied 2-2 after two minutes of play, and immediately after, Brown rattled off an 11-2 run to secure a margin that they would never relinquish.
McLaughlin spoke on the momentum Brown has built over the back half of Ivy League play.
“Their club is playing really well right now,” McLaughlin said.
The score read 41-30 at the intermission, but the Bears were able to pull away with a 22-point victory, 89-67.
Dusan Neskovic ’24 led the Big Green in the scoring column on Saturday night, racking up 17 points on 15 shots to go along with four rebounds.
Brown’s senior guard shined on Saturday, besting his previous career high in points for one contest by 21, pouring in 39 points on the Big Green defense. He also fired up 12 three-pointers, nailing 10 of them, a program record.
McLaughlin noted it was difficult to maintain momentum when the opposing team’s three-point specialist was so tuned in.
“Brown was making shots and playing with confidence,” McLaughlin said. “When you get down on the road, and a team is playing that way, it makes it hard to come back.”
This game served as Brown’s fifth consecutive Ivy League win, in which Brown also punched their first-ever ticket to Ivy Madness, where they will play as the No. 4 seed in the semifinals.
Here’s a look into the Ivy League standings after this weekend’s action.
Dartmouth comes home to wrap up the season against the Harvard University Crimson on Tuesday night. The Big Green were defeated 77-59 in Cambridge earlier in the season.
“The most important thing for us right now is to get ready for a game we have in 72 hours,” McLaughlin said. “I know the guys will be ready. We need to get home, take care of our bodies and have a couple [of] good days of prep.”
Dartmouth Athletics informed The Dartmouth that only Coach McLaughlin was available to talk at the time this article was published.
