HANOVER, N.H. – If you think there’s nowhere to go but up for the Dartmouth men’s basketball team this season, you’re probably not alone. The Big Green won only four Division I games last season and were – to be kind – dreadful offensively: 351st nationally in efficiency, last in the Ivy League by a pretty wide margin. And Dusan Neskovic, who was fifth nationally in usage and third in shots taken, is now at Richmond.
The preseason Ivy League poll would agree with you as well. Dartmouth was picked dead last almost unanimously.
But internally, as the Big Green regrouped, it also marked opportunity for them. Outside of Neskovic’s departure, they are not necessarily starting over. And in their Division I opener Saturday afternoon at Leede Arena, with two seniors and two juniors in the starting lineup, they took an early punch from Sacred Heart and came back to win fairly comfortably (with the exception of the final minute), 81-76.
Beating the Pioneers (0-3) won’t exactly send shockwaves through the league, Sacred Heart was also picked last in its first year in the MAAC. However, Dartmouth was able to dominate the paint, allowing just five offensive rebounds and getting to the free throw line 39 times (much to the consternation of Sacred Heart coach Anthony Latina, who got a technical late in the second half).
“We’re looking for an identity, how we want to play on both sides of the ball, not sure we always had that last season,” Dartmouth coach Dave McLaughlin said. “No one has a true identity yet, it’s early. We need everyone to be ready, we’re going to need contributions from more people who are going to have to step up consistently and we’ll keep working on that.”
Sacred Heart was 6-for-9 from three-point range in the first 10 minutes and used that to grab a 22-16 lead. But Dartmouth outscored the Pioneers 26-10 the rest of the half, repeatedly going inside through Jackson Munro and penetrating drives from freshman Connor Amundsen. From there, the Big Green were on cruise control for much of the second half, leading by as much as 15 before St. Bonaventure transfer Anquan Hill got hot and it was suddenly 78-76 with 21 seconds left. But Romeo Myrthil sealed the win from the free throw line.
The key names are ones you’ve probably heard before if you’re an Ivy League fan, although they may not have made too much of a lasting memory on your brain: Munro is a junior center who was solid offensively in 2023-24, but was a bit of a liability defensively, grabbing just 12.1% of opponents’ misses. He finished with 19 points and eight rebounds Saturday, six of them defensive.
“I try to let the game come to me a lot, but I know I need to play a bigger role,” Munro said. “My teammates did a great job of finding me in good spots and that helped my confidence. We don’t really pay attention to where we’re picked. Just one game at a time, have good days and reach our potential as a team and let the results speak for themselves.”
Ryan Cornish is now a senior guard, who has seen his ups and downs in Hanover, able to play in just 12 games last season and an inconsistent shooter, just 19% from outside the arc a year ago. Saturday, he was only 3-for-9 from the field but managed to get 14 points (seven at the line) and 10 rebounds, all defensive.
“I just want to win. I don’t see it as any more urgency that I had before,” Cornish said. “I just want to live in the moment and stay focused on the present. It might be my last year here, but I want to win with my guys and build something with the younger players, too.”
Fellow senior Myrthil is the energy of the team and creates hustle plays, but he has rarely been a threat offensively and has had trouble with turnovers (29.9% rate in 2022-23) in his career.
There is one key new player and that is point guard Connor Amundsen, who physically looks like he could be playing across the street at Hanover High, but – even listed at 5-foot-11 – showed his physicality Saturday, getting to the free throw line 15 times and only recording two turnovers.
“He’s got a lot of basketball experience, he’s the son of a coach, he knows he has our full confidence,” McLaughlin said.
But we saved what could be the biggest key for last. Senior Cade Haskins had not played more than 20 minutes in a game since Jan. 1 of his sophomore season. However, he scored 32 points in the opener against Division III Vermont State-Lyndon on 8-for-12 shooting from three and did it in just 18 minutes. He followed that up Saturday with a game-high 20 points in 29 minutes on 5-for-11 shooting behind the arc. He will quickly make people’s scouting reports, but at 6-foot-6, he has some height to shoot over people and should be able to complement slashers such as Cornish and Brandon Mitchell-Day (Haskins also finished +12 in 29 minutes against Sacred Heart).
There is a long season to play, and it’s now been 26 years since Dartmouth has posted a winning record in the Ivy League (1998-99), which was also the last time it had an overall mark over .500. But there is a veteran team and an experienced head coach (it’s now McLaughlin’s ninth year in Hanover) that believe they have something to prove, so writing them off might be at your own peril.