Dartmouth Hits the Road this Weekend for Games at Yale and Brown

Friday, January 6

New Haven, Conn. / Payne Whitney Gymnasium

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Yale

Huddle men's basketball action versus Vermont

Photo by: Doug Austin

Dartmouth Hits the Road this Weekend for Games at Yale and Brown

1/5/2023 10:14:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes Watch (Friday)Live Stats (Friday)Watch (Saturday)Live Stats (Saturday)International Stream

The Big Green are eyeing their first Ivy League victory

By: Justin Lafleur

GAME 16
Dartmouth (4-11, 0-1) at Yale (10-4, 0-1 Ivy League)
Date: Friday, January 6, 2023 – 7 p.m.
Location: New Haven, Conn. – Payne Whitney Gymnasium
All-Time Series: Yale, 120-98
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

GAME 17
Dartmouth (4-11, 0-1) at Brown (7-7, 0-1 Ivy League)
Date: Saturday, January 7, 2023 – 6 p.m.
Location: Providence, R.I. – Pizzitola Sports Center
All-Time Series: Brown, 82-81
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

Setting the Scene
This weekend, the Dartmouth men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this Ivy League season as the Big Green face Yale on Friday (7 p.m.) and Brown on Saturday (6 p.m.) in the first of three back-to-back weekends during the league schedule. The Big Green are coming off a competitive contest against Cornell in their Ivy League opener Sunday, leading for more than 11 minutes of gametime in the first half, but the Big Red wouldn't trail in the second.

Senior Dame Adelekun led the way for Dartmouth, posting his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career, all coming within the last year. Adelekun emerged in Ivy League play last season, when he posted three double-doubles. He also had one against CSU Bakersfield in December. Adelekun finished Sunday with 14 points and 10 rebounds (five of which were offensive). The Ivy League leader in blocks had two more Sunday, including one which made ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day, coming in at No. 10. It marked Dartmouth's second top 10 play of the season, both coming within the last month's time (Jaren Johnson was the other, also a block on Dec. 13 at Boston University).

Adelekun finished 6-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. As a team, Dartmouth shot 21-of-31 from two (67.7 percent), but just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) from behind the arc. After starting 3-of-4 from three, the Big Green hit just three of their next 22. Sunday marked the third time this season that Dartmouth has missed 10 or fewer 2-pointers in a game, the others being Nov. 11 against Bryant (15-of-25 from two) and Nov. 28 against Grambling State (11-of-19 from two).

Senior Cam Krystkowiak shot well on Sunday, finishing 4-of-6 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc (the three made threes tied a career high). His 11 points tied a season high. It came in his fifth start of the season. Sophomore Ryan Cornish scored 11 points while freshman Jackson Munro had nine on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting, and junior Izaiah Robinson added nine as well.

Defensively, Dartmouth held the Big Red to just 41.7 percent shooting, their second lowest percentage of the season (only lower total came at Syracuse). Cornell's 74 points tied for its second lowest while its 32.1 percentage from 3-point range and nine made threes marked its fourth lowest.

With a win on Friday, the Big Green would improve to 1-1 in the Ivy League for the second straight season and third time in the last four seasons. This weekend will mark the third time Dartmouth plays on back-to-back days this season, the others coming in November — back-to-back home games vs. Bryant and MCLA, and at the UTSA Tournament.

With a win on Friday...
- Dartmouth would snap a 12-game losing streak against Yale and beat the Bulldogs for the first time since Mar. 7, 2015 — a 59-58 Big Green victory at home.
- The Big Green would snap a seven-game losing streak at Yale and top the Bulldogs in New Haven for the first time since Mar. 8, 2014 — 69-61.
- The Big Green would pick up their second road victory of the season and first since topping UTSA in overtime on Nov. 27.
- Dating back to last season, Dartmouth would win its fourth Ivy League game in its last six tries (and second straight on the road).

With a win on Saturday...
- Dartmouth would beat Brown for the second time in its last three tries.
- The Big Green would snap a four-game losing streak at Brown and beat the Bears in Providence for the first time since Feb. 11, 2017 — 77-74.
- Dartmouth would take an 83-81 lead in the all-time series.

Last Time Out
HANOVER, N.H. (1/1/23) — Facing a Cornell team that entered Ivy League play among the national leaders in a number of categories, the Dartmouth men's basketball team held the Big Red offense in check, but it wasn't enough in a 74-63 loss in the Ivy League opener on Sunday in Leede Arena. The Big Green celebrated the new year by scoring the game's first five points and opening a 17-10 lead. Even after going down 10 on multiple occasions, Dartmouth pulled back within four (63-59) with 4:19 remaining, but couldn't get any closer.

Scouting Yale
Defending Ivy League Tournament Champion Yale stands 10-4 overall and 0-1 in the Ivy League heading into the weekend following a 62-60 loss at Columbia in its league opener. The Bulldogs ended nonleague play with consecutive wins at Fairfield (77-64) and Monmouth (76-44). Yale's three nonleague defeats were competitive contests against power-conference opponents Colorado (65-62), Butler (71-61) and Kentucky (69-59).

Matt Knowling leads the Bulldogs and stands fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 16.2 points per game. He stands first in the Ivy League and 19th nationally in field goal percentage (63.0). Two other Yale players average double-figure points in John Poulakidas (11.1) and EJ Jarvis (10.1). Knowling leads the team in rebounds (5.1) while Bez Mbeng leads the Bulldogs in assists with 41 in 14 games (2.9 average).

As a team, Yale stands first in the Ivy League and top 10 nationally in scoring defense (56.9), scoring margin (18.4) and rebound margin (9.9).

All-Time Against The Bulldogs
Yale leads the all-time series with Dartmouth, 120-98, which includes 12 straight wins. The Big Green's last win against the Bulldogs was on Mar. 7, 2015 in Hanover via a 59-58 final. The year prior was Dartmouth's last win at Yale, 59-58 on Mar. 7, 2015. Dartmouth won the first-ever meeting, 22-15 on Feb. 9, 1901, and the Big Green won six of the first eight meetings all-time.

Scouting Brown
Brown is 7-7 on the season and 0-1 in the Ivy League entering a Friday night home game vs. Harvard. After winning five straight, the Bears have lost three of their last four, with two coming against Big Ten opponents Michigan State and Northwestern. In the Bears' winning streak were victories over Rhode Island foes Bryant and URI. Brown began the season with three straight defeats: at Vermont, vs. Colgate and at Loyola Maryland.

Kino Lilly Jr. leads the Bears and stands fifth in the Ivy League in scoring (15.9 points per game). He leads the league in minutes per contest (34:44). Paxson Wojcik is second on Brown in points (12.1) and first in rebounding (7.1) while Nana Owusu-Anane is third in scoring (10.2) and second in rebounding (7.0). Out of Wojcik's rebounds, 6.57 are defensive boards, good for first in the Ivy League.

All-Time Against The Bears
Dartmouth leads the all-time series against Brown, 82-81, with the Bears winning five of the last six. The teams split the season series in 2021-22, with Dartmouth winning in Hanover, 58-46, and Brown victorious in Providence, 62-60. The Big Green won the first six all-time meetings (from 1902-05) and 14 of the first 16 overall.

Dan Na Na, Da Na Na
Dartmouth men's basketball has found itself on ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 twice this season. Most recently, Dame Adelekun's block vs. Cornell on New Year's Day made the cut at No. 10. It was an impressive play in which he essentially caught the ball as the shot was going up (rather than swatting it away). The other came on Dec. 13 at Boston University via a Jaren Johnson chase down block.

3-Point Prowess
Dartmouth knocked down double-figure 3-pointers in three of the first four games of the season (11 at Fordham, 10 vs. Bryant and 13 against MCLA). That made it seven times in eight games with 10+ treys dating back to the end of 2021-22. (The Big Green had nine at Quinnipiac in game four.) It marked the first time the Big Green had double-digit made threes in their first three games of the season since 2018-19.

Dartmouth made 13 treys in consecutive games vs. NVU-Johnson and CSU Bakersfield. The 26 made threes were the most since the start of the 2021-22 season at Georgetown (16) and hosting NVU-Lyndon (14). It was also the first time with 13+ made threes consecutively since those two contests.

Overall, the Big Green have reached double-figure made threes in five of 15 games this season. Dartmouth's 8.1 made 3-pointers per contest stand fourth in the Ivy League.

Block Party
Dartmouth's 4.4 blocks per game are first in the Ivy League and 60th in the nation, owning 66 blocks in 15 games. Individually, senior Dame Adelekun's 27 blocks and 1.93 blocks per contest are tops in the league (and 34th and 35th in the nation, respectively). He's had three or more blocks four times, including a career high in back-to-back games — four at Central Connecticut State then five at Boston University.

The four blocks marked the most for a Big Green player since Chris Knight had four on Feb. 8, 2019, at home vs. Cornell. The five at BU were the most since Jan. 17, 2015, when Gabas Maldunas had five against NJIT. In the first 5:21 of the second half, Adelekun posted nine points, four rebounds, four blocks and an assist in an incredible stretch of basketball. Going back to the first half, the Ivy League leader in blocks had all of his career-high five rejections in the span of 10:04 of game action.

Tough Schedule
Dartmouth's nonleague schedule was challenging, with the 12 Division I opponents posting a combined 89-81 record (following games Jan. 3). Every team has a .500 or better record, except five. The Big Green's first three DI opponents of the year (Fordham, Bryant and Quinnipiac) are currently a combined 32-11.

Fordham: 12-2
Bryant: 10-4
Quinnipiac: 10-5
Incarnate Word: 6-8
UTSA: 6-8
Grambling State: 7-6
CSU Bakersfield: 4-9
Vermont: 7-8
Central Connecticut State: 3-13
Boston University: 8-7
South Florida: 7-7
UMass: 9-4
Total: 89-81

Balanced Scoring
Through 15 games, eight different Big Green players have led the team in scoring. Here is a rundown.

Dame Adelekun: 4 - vs. Vermont (12/6), at Boston University (12/13), at South Florida (12/16), vs. Cornell (1/1)
Ryan Cornish: 3 - at UTSA (11/27), vs. Grambling State (11/28), vs. CSU Bakersfield (12/3)
Brandon Mitchell-Day: 2 - vs. Bryant (11/11), vs. Incarnate Word (11/25)
Cade Haskins: 2 - at Quinnipiac (11/15), at Central Connecticut State (12/9)
Jaren Johnson: 1 - at UMass (12/20)
Robert McRae III: 1 - vs. MCLA (11/12)
Dusan Neskovic: 1 - at Fordham (11/7)
Jayden Williams: 1 - vs. NVU-Johnson (11/30)

Big Green in the Lone Star State
Dartmouth picked up a 78-77 overtime win at UTSA on Sunday, Nov. 27, marking the program's first-ever win in the state of Texas. The Big Green also played Incarnate Word in the 210 San Antonio Shootout, as the Cardinals and Roadrunners marked the fifth and sixth Texas schools Dartmouth has ever played (the others being Houston, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech). There are 24 current Division I men's basketball programs in the state. Dartmouth is now 3-5 all-time against Texas schools, also owning wins over Houston (Dec. 12, 1957 at home by an 84-64 final) and Texas A&M (Dec. 17, 1989 by a 64-51 final).

Welcome to Dartmouth!
Head coach David McLaughlin announced in August the addition of three student-athletes in the Class of 2026 — Brandon Mitchell-Day, Jackson Munro and Jayden Williams.

Mitchell-Day, a 6-8, 205-pound forward from Creve Coeur, Missouri, was the conference player of the year for Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day (MICDS) this past winter, scoring over 1,000 points in his prep career. Twice he was named all-state and all-district, and he played AAU ball for Gateway Basketball on the Under Armour Rise Circuit.

A 6-8, 220-pound forward from Wilmette, Illinois, Munro is a product of New Trier High School, which he helped advance to the Illinois State Sectional finals by averaging around 16 points and nine rebounds a game. The Chicago Sun-Times First Team All-State selection was also a two-time All-Central Suburban League performer and named the New Trier/Thanksgiving Tournament MVP. On the AAU circuit, he made a name for himself playing with Fundamental U.

Williams, a product of Windermere Prep in Florida, was All-Florida First Team this past year along with all-district and All-Region 3 honors to his name. The 6-6, 185-pound wing averaged about 18 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest, helping the Lakers post a 20-8 record during the season. He also played AAU ball as a member of 1Family.

Captains Revealed
Last May, Dartmouth men's basketball head coach David McLaughlin revealed the three captains that will lead his squad during the 2022-23 season — rising seniors Dame Adelekun, Jackson Blaufeld and Cam Krystkowiak.

Adelekun, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward from Gastonia, North Carolina, emerged as a force in the frontcourt when Ivy League play began at the beginning of the calendar year. Injuries had limited him to just 15 games in his career while averaging just over one point. But in conference games last winter, he produced 10.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game over the 14 contests while shooting 63.6 percent from the floor and blocking a team-high 10 shots. Those numbers led to him earning the team's Rudy LaRusso '59 Award as the most improved player as well. A 6-4, 195-pound shooting guard from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Blaufeld may have seen limited action during his career with just 17 games under his belt, but he is one of the most positive and vocal teammates the Big Green have ever seen. His work ethic in practice is unmatched, whether he is putting in extra time to improve his own game or helping his teammates get better with his intense energy and dogged determination when matching up against them. Krystkowiak, the son of former NBA player Larry Krystkowiak, is working on making a name for himself as the third captain for the Big Green next season. The 6-9, 210-pound power forward from San Diego, California, finally got a chance to play this past winter after missing his entire freshman season due to an injury. With the skills to play in the post and on the perimeter, he showed what he could do right out of the gate with nine points in the season opener at Boston College and five more with four rebounds in the win at Georgetown, including his first 3-pointer. But it was his 20-point performance in a six-point loss at California that put all of his talent on display.

Follow Along
The games Friday and Saturday will both be streamed on ESPN+.

What's Ahead?
After this weekend, the Big Green return home to host Penn on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. They then hit the road on Monday to face Harvard on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.