Leede Arena was buzzing.
Up by a point with 15 seconds to go, Dartmouth had a chance to do the unthinkable: upset the Ivy League favorite Princeton University. Princeton’s Xaivian Lee had been slipping, coughing up the ball on the previous possession to set up a Cade Haskins ’25 go-ahead three and nearly losing it again before the referees stopped the play for a jump ball. The possession arrow belonged to the Tigers, and Lee got the ball at the top of the key. This time, his feet did not fail him.
He stepped back and to his left with just .008 seconds on the clock, chucking a three over the outstretched arm of Jayden Williams ’26. Nothing but net. The entire crowd heaved a sigh of disbelief and sadness, and people began to leave. Dartmouth desperately tried to get up a shot in the dying seconds, but in an ironic twist of fate, Romeo Myrthil ’25 fell to the floor, sealing the Big Green’s defeat.
Lee’s dagger to hand Dartmouth an 81-80 loss tainted an otherwise incredible performance and snapped the Big Green’s three-game win streak.
“We played our hearts out today,” junior forward Brandon Mitchell-Day ’26 said. “It just didn’t work out in our favor. But we have the recipe. We just got to put it together.”
In a packed arena, Dartmouth had battled all game, feeding on the crowd to charge back from multiple deficits — including as many as nine points — to stay in the game.
“I thought that the environment today was fantastic,” Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin said. “I want to thank everyone in Dartmouth that helps with that, but I also want to thank the Upper Valley. That’s just a great way to spend an afternoon, and that environment certainly gave us energy, especially at the end of the evening.”
With just two minutes to go, Dartmouth found itself down six points with the game slipping out of its grasp. Then, Ryan Cornish ’25 took over, assisting Mitchell-Day with a beautiful overhead pass to thwart a double team, drawing a charge and putting up four points in crunch time to pull Dartmouth within one. Cornish was a big part of Dartmouth’s persistence throughout the game, leading the team in points and steals with 20 and three, respectively. Mitchell-Day also played lights-out, adding 16 points and leading the team in boards with nine.
The bench also came alive, putting up a combined 21 points to help Dartmouth deal with early foul trouble.
“I thought guys really stepped up in the first half,” McLaughlin said. “We tell our guys to be ready, and it’s a great lesson for any player out there. Practice as hard as you can if you don’t know where your opportunity is going to help.”
With the loss, Dartmouth stands 7-8 overall and sinks below .500, sitting at 1-1 in Ivy League play. Princeton extends its win streak to six games and remains on top of the Ivy League, tied with Cornell University and Yale University. Despite the disappointing loss, Dartmouth, which was ranked bottom of the Ivy League in the preseason polls, has a lot to be proud of.
“I said to these guys during a time out, ‘We’re playing exactly what we want to play,’” McLaughlin said. “We have an identity. We have an identity on both sides of the ball.”
After finishing a lowly 2-12 in Ivy League play last season, the attitude surrounding the loss highlights a growing feeling gripping the team this season: hope.
There were doubts that the Big Green would be able to compete in conference play following last season’s record, especially when facing the Tigers, as they are currently tied for the number one spot in the Ivy. After fighting the Tigers back-and-forth, down to the wire, the Big Green didn’t come out on top but certainly put up a strong fight.
“Tough loss but we know we can compete with anyone,” Cornish said. “… So we’re going to look forward to the next game and keep showing and proving to people who we are.”
Dartmouth fell 83-67 to the Yale Bulldogs in their next game on Jan. 20, but once again showed their quality against one of the strongest Ivy League teams. Dartmouth hopes to bounce back this Saturday as they host Brown University in Leede Arena.
