NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Dartmouth came into Lee Amphitheater and did what very few Ivy League teams have in recent years - knock off the Bulldogs. Dusan Neskovic scored 24 points and Ryan Cornish added 18 as the Big Green held off Yale 81-77.
It was just the sixth home Ivy loss for the Bulldogs since the start of the 2017-18 season.
Matt Knowling scored 17 points to pace Yale.
Bez Mbeng added 15, and
August Mahoney had 13.
There were nine ties and nine lead changes in the game. The Big Green had a 34-33 halftime advantage and extended it to seven, 54-47, on a Cornish layup midway through the second half.
The Bulldogs, though, answered with a 11-4 run, capped by a Knowling driving layup, to tie the score. Dartmouth pushed the lead back to six, 71-65, when Dame Adelekun made one of two free throws with 3:27 remaining.
Yale made one last push in the final minute.
Yassine Gharram's driving layup cut the lead to 79-76 with five seconds left. A Big Green turnover on the ensuing in-bounds play gave the ball back to the Bulldogs.
Mahoney was quickly fouled and made the first free throw. He then deliberately missed the second, but Yale was called for a lane violation.
Neskovic sealed the victory for Dartmouth by hitting two free throws with three seconds remaining.
"Tip your hat to Dartmouth. They played very well," said
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Our team defense wasn't there tonight."
Yale (10-5, 0-2 Ivy) also struggled from three-point range, shooting just 2-of-14 from beyond the arc.
"We have an opportunity to win if we shoot at a higher clip," Jones said.
There were 54 fouls whistled in the game, and the two teams combined for 72 free throws. The Big Green had three players foul out, while Yale had two.
The Bulldogs are right back in action on Saturday when they host Harvard. Tipoff at Lee Amphitheater is slated for 7 p.m.
