HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth inadvertently flashed a graphic momentarily before Saturday’s pivotal game against Brown that read, “Ivy Madness Clinched.”.
Fortunately for the Big Green, there has been little to jinx them in the 2024-25 Ivy League season, as they shook off a dreadful start and halftime deficit to win by another lopsided margin, 78-58, and clinch its first Ivy League Tournament berth in school history at Leede Arena.
It continues a remarkable turnaround for the program, which hadn’t secured a winning Ivy record this century and was just 2-12 last season (6-21 overall), then lost its best player (and someone with one of the highest usage rates in the nation), Dusan Neskovic, to Richmond.
But there was absolutely nothing fluky about the way Dartmouth (14-12, 8-5) has risen this season in conference. A 2-3 start included losses to Princeton, Cornell and Yale, but the Big Green’s last five wins have come by an average of 23.6 points.
While much of the talk earlier in the season revolved around Dartmouth’s new uptempo offense, it’s the defense that has been the real consistent part of its game in conference play. Holding Brown to 0.81 points per possession means the Big Green now lead the Ivy in defensive efficiency and the only team under 1.00 ppp (0.984).
Saturday’s game certainly didn’t look like a blowout to begin the proceedings – or at least a Dartmouth one. The Big Green missed their first 10 shots from the field, allowing the Bears (14-12, 6-7) to grab a 9-0 lead. Dartmouth, buoyed by another near sellout crowd, finally got rid of the nerves, but Landon Lewis, as part of a massive first half (16 points), scored four straight points to give Brown a 31-30 lead at the intermission.
“We had some nerves, but we were getting good looks, I didn’t even see a need to call timeout,” Dartmouth coach David McLaughlin said. “It’s been a player-led team all season, and there was no panic.”
The Bears got the first bucket of the second half, but their offense ground to a complete halt after that. They were able to survive a 2-for-15 performance from behind the arc in a low-scoring win over Harvard Friday, but they not only went 2-for-21 from three-point range Saturday but an unbelievable 2-for-14 from the free throw line (and one of those only went in thanks to a fortunate bounce from AJ Lesburt).
Kino Lilly Jr. is just 4-for-29 from behind the arc in his last four games (5-for-20 overall Saturday, 1-for-8 from three for 11 points). Without him, Brown tried its best to get to the rim, but Dartmouth did not have to respect anything outside 15 feet and flooded all angles to the rim. Seeing its Ivy League Tournament hopes slipping away led to more frustration from Mike Martin and the team. The Bears were picked third in the preseason after missing their first NCAA Tournament by the narrowest of margins last March.
But injuries and the lack of consistency look like it will force the Bears to watch Ivy Madness on their home floor without them. The Brown Daily Herald computes the Bears’ chances at 3.1% currently, which include them having to beat Yale next Saturday and have the loser of Sunday’s Cornell-Princeton game fall again next weekend as favorites.
Saturday, however, belonged to McLaughlin and Dartmouth. After there were some questions last spring whether McLaughlin would get an eighth season in Hanover following the disappointing 2023-24 campaign, there will be no doubts about a ninth.
Unless, of course, Dartmouth ends the longest NCAA Tournament drought in the nation (1959) and wins the Ivy League Tournament in two weeks. Then he may find himself with some offers he can’t refuse elsewhere.
“When you talk about Dartmouth, you talk about community, right? And the basketball program is an amazing community,” McLaughlin said. “We had our alumni here three weeks ago and (former coach) Dave Faucher might be the biggest homer announcer in the Ivy League, but we love him for it. He’s just so supportive and you can see how happy he is for us right now. He built so much here, and I learned through my college coach (Colby’s Dick Whitmore) how important it is to have a great alumni network. So I’m pleased not only for our players, but everyone that played before them at Dartmouth. I’m sure we’re going to hear from a lot of them.”
This day also belonged to the Dartmouth veterans who had been through plenty of losses. Senior Ryan Cornish suffered through injuries and inconsistency, shooting just 19% from beyond the arc last season and struggling mightily down the stretch of his sophomore season, only to put together a likely All-Ivy First Team season to finish his career. He led the Big Green with 18 points Saturday.
“It means the world to me,” Cornish said. “To do it for my parents and my family and the guys who played here before. They show us endless support, and to see how far I came as a senior captain from where I was as a freshman. It’s just amazing, and hopefully we get to experience more. And we all get to experience it together.”
Fellow senior Romeo Myrthil had 17 family members from Sweden for his Senior Day, defended Lilly for most of the contest and hit a massive three in the run that opened the game up in the second half, finishing with a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds). Cade Haskins and Connor Christensen, whom McLaughlin said deserves a lot of credit for the team’s attitude and success despite limited minutes, were also honored pregame.
“We’ve been through ups and downs together, and to end it on a high note means the world, and to see all these fans out there with the atmosphere we’ve had the last two nights, with my family here, too? It means so much,” Myrthil said.
Junior Brandon Mitchell-Day has been the other breakout star with Cornish and chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds.
There will be time to add up the accomplishments and adulation for a program that has long dwelled at the bottom of the Ivy League.
However, as much as it has accomplished, Dartmouth hopes this isn’t the end. Even if it loses next Saturday at Harvard (which still holds out fleeting hope of getting the last Ivy Madness spot as of Saturday night), it will likely be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed and play either Cornell or Princeton, both of whom it handled easily in the last two weeks. And then, as Brown showed last year, anything can happen in one game.
“We always believed even after this season started a little slow, too. We never doubted ourselves,” Cornish said.
Why not Dartmouth?
“I definitely noticed the preseason polls, but to be honest, it’s been like that every year since I’ve been here,” Myrthil said. “This year, we finally got to prove how good a basketball team we were and it was so much fun. But we’re not done.”
