HANOVER — Playing its fourth game in five days and on only a day of rest, the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team produced its best offensive performance of the season on Tuesday night at Leede Arena.

In its 108-59 rout of visiting Division III Thomas College, the Big Green shot a season-high 63.1% (41-of-65) from the floor, getting 12 points from captain Ian Sistare. The senior added three rebounds and dished out two assists. Dartmouth is now 5-1 and off to its best start since the 1996-97 season.

“I think it’s good for not only the starters to get some lower minutes, but the real value in it is to get the lower-minute guys into the game for significant minutes,” said James Foye, who pulled down four rebounds and added seven points. “They’re working hard behind the scenes every day, learning the other team’s plays and running the scout team defense for an hour and a half while we’re running our offense. It can grind on you. All of those guys can really play. It’s great to get them some minutes and some buckets.”

Sophomore point guard Taurus Samuels tied his career high with four 3-pointers en route to a 14-point night. He played 22 minutes, more than any other Dartmouth starter on the night, which coach David McLaughlin wanted because Samuels has been thrown into his role because of Brendan Barry’s season ending hip injury.

“One thing I will say about Taurus was he was here at 9 a.m. today and got 300 3s up. Guys like that get rewarded,” McLaughlin said.

Dartmouth’s easy win allowed McLaughlin to open up his bench. The fourth-year coach didn’t play a starter in the last 10 minutes of the game. Jayden Reaves provided a late highlight, throwing an alley-oop to Garrison Wade with 6 minutes, 19 seconds to play.

The Big Green opened the game on a 13-0 run, with Aaryn Rai scoring six of his 12 points. He also had a team-high six rebounds.

Dartmouth closed out the first half on a 25-6 run, which gave the Big Green a 51-23 halftime lead. The Terriers were led by Lovegeurson Fleurine’s 15 points and six rebounds. Thomas shot 31.2% from the floor and is now 2-1 on the season.

The big picture: Don’t be fooled by the drubbing of Thomas. Dartmouth may be off to its best start in more than 20 years, but the Terriers were the most beatable opponent on the Big Green’s schedule. The tough part of nonconference play will come now, well before Ivy League play starts on Jan. 18 at Harvard.

Stat sheet: Over the last 15-plus seasons, Dartmouth has played a school outside of Division I a dozen times, winning the 12 contests by an average margin of 40.3 points. … The Big Green scored 56 points in the paint and 18 off turnovers. They also held a 53-18 advantage in points off the bench. … Chris Knight added 10 points in 12 minutes of play. … Trevon Ary-Turner wore a sweatsuit on the bench and did not play. … Eight players scored in double digits for the Big Green. … Dartmouth’s assist-to-turnover ratio was 25-3.

Up next: Dartmouth gets 10 days of rest before five games in 14 days. The first test will come at Bowling Green on Nov. 30. The break will also allow the Big Green to gear up for fall finals.

Pete Nakos can be reached at (603) 727-3306 or pnakos@vnews.com.