HANOVER — Dartmouth men’s basketball coach Dave McLaughlin wanted Chris Knight to be effective but not rack up too many minutes.
He responded in appropriate fashion. The junior big-man did that on Wednesday morning, shooting 8-of-8 from the field and finishing with 18 points in 26 minutes of play to lead the Big Green to a 76-60 win over Central Connecticut State at Leede Arena.
“Chris is an incredibly talented player,” McLaughlin said. “We’re going to play through him as much as we can. That puts a lot of pressure on him in a lot of ways and I think he likes it.
“The biggest thing with him is he has lofty goals. It’s not just what are his goals, but what he’s going to do daily to accomplish those goals. I think that he’s got a really good approach right now.”
Knight got plenty of help, too, with Aaryn Rai chipping in 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. The Blue Devils, one of three winless teams in NCAA Division I basketball, held a lead late in the first half, but the Big Green responded by going on a 9-0 run to close out the half, taking a 31-23 lead.
In the second half, Dartmouth (7-5) allowed CCSU to get back in the game and were tied at 45 with 12:07 to play. The Big Green countered with a 14-2 run capped off by a Knight layup in transition.
The home team shot 49 percent from the field but was 13-of-22 from the free-throw line. Taurus Samuels, Ian Sistare and James Foye each had nine points. Dartmouth scored 42 points in the paint and was 7-of-28 from beyond the arc. The Big Green stretched its lead to 17 with less than three minutes to play.
Wednesday’s contest was the first time since Nov. 19 that Dartmouth played a home game and only the second time this year it’s played a Division I team in Leede Arena. The Big Green returned home after a five-game road trip spanning two weeks.
The big picture: Plain and simple, the Big Green just needed a win, and it got that. Dartmouth turned the ball over 16 times and seemed lethargic on offense at moments. It wasn’t a flashy victory, but it was refreshing after dropping four of five games on the road trip.
Stat sheet: Knight’s 8-of-8 from the field was the most makes without a miss since Walter Palmer went 8-for-8 on Dec. 16, 1989. … Wednesday’s announced attendance was 1,007 thanks to half the arena being taken up by screaming schoolkids. … McLaughlin opened up the bench with 14 players seeing game action. … It is the fifth time this season that an opponent been held to 60 points or less by the Big Green defense. … Rai’s double-double was the third of his career and first this season.
Up next: Dartmouth is now three games away from its Ivy League opener at Harvard on Jan. 18. The Big Green hosts Bryant on Saturday at Leede.
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.