History was made in two ways on Saturday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center, as men’s basketball (11-17, 7-6 Ivy) hosted Dartmouth (5-21, 1-12 Ivy) for Brown’s senior night match-up.
For the first time in program history, the Bears clinched a spot in Ivy Madness, the annual conference tournament that awards its winner with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division 1 tournament. And Kimo Ferrari ’24, who led the way with a dazzling 39-point performance, broke a program record with ten three-pointers made.
“I’ve never had 39, so it was a crazy feeling out there. I felt like Kino Lilly (Jr. ’25). I felt like Mike Martin in 2002,” Ferrari joked.
Before tipoff, a ceremony honored the team’s three seniors, Felix Kloman ’24, Malachi Ndur ’24 and Ferrari, who quickly stole the show.
Despite the offensive-powered ending to Saturday’s contest, the game began as a defensive battle with both teams struggling to find offensive rhythm, committing turnovers and missing open looks. Ndur eventually rekindled the Bears’ offense when he knocked down a three from the top of the key and completed a nifty transition layup off a sweet dime from Lilly Jr.
The Bears found additional offensive impulse from Ferrari, who was sizzling beyond the arc, draining three-pointer after three-pointer. Ferrari’s offensive efforts were accompanied by Lilly Jr., who recorded a career-high eight assists, navigating around screens and dishing swift passes to his teammates in open space.
Lilly Jr. also made tremendous contributions defensively, plucking seven steals — tied for the second-most in program history and the most since 2008. The Bears were also assisted on defense by Nana Owusu-Anane ’25, who swam around the paint, grabbing any rebound in sight, poking steals and eliminating Big Green’s hopes of second-chance buckets. Owusu-Anane finished the day with 13 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.
Following a solid first-half showing, Brown held a 41-30 lead over Dartmouth.
The Bears came out of halftime firing on all cylinders, forcing Dartmouth turnovers, running smooth offensive sets and knocking down open shots — which helped Bruno mount a 51-33 lead with 15:46 left.
But just as the Bears seemed to pull away, the Big Green remained determined, putting pressure on Bruno to hold the lead. With unwavering defensive aggression and great shooting, Dartmouth cut Brown’s lead to just 8 points with 9:44 left, testing the Bears’ resilience.
Thankfully, Ferrari entered “the zone,” sinking nearly every shot he took. The Bears gave Ferrari the keys to the offense, letting him shoot nearly every possession — a wise decision considering the fact that Ferrari shot an unbelievable 87.5% from the field and 83.3% from three-point range.
After Ferrari began to catch fire, Dartmouth adjusted, sending defenders Ferrari’s way as soon as he emerged past half court. But to the Big Green’s dismay, Ferrari was nowhere near his last lap, draining threes in transition, from the corner and off the dribble. There was simply no slowing him down — as Ferrari finished with 39 points, the sixth most in a single game in Brown history and tied for the most points scored in the Pizzitola Sports Center by a Brown student-athlete. Ferrari also finished with ten threes on Saturday, the most in program history.
With every additional three Ferrari nailed, the Pizzitola Sports Center got even louder, exploding with excitement as Ferrari extended the Brown lead and broke records. “I thought I was in the zone when Kino hit me on that transition three,” Ferrari said. During his post-game interview for ESPN+, Ferrari was showered with gatorade by his teammates as chants of “Kimo, Kimo” rang throughout the Pizz.
“This place is really special. I’m just very grateful that, four years ago, Coach Martin gave me this chance to try and make the most out of it,” said Ferrari. “We’re not done yet though,” he added.
Saturday’s win was a symbolic achievement for this Brown team which, despite a challenging start to the season, seems to have truly turned the corner, winning their last five games in a row. “Our players, to their credit, really owned what they all think they can do better,” said Head Coach Mike Martin ’04. “I love the accountability, I love the ownership and I love the connectivity of our group right now.”
But before heading to New York City to embark on the Ivy Madness journey, the Bears have a final regular season game against Yale (20-8, 11-2 Ivy). The Bears have already set their eyes on next week’s rematch against the Bulldogs, Martin said.
“It’s an opportunity for us to finish above .500 in league play,” he added. “It’s an opportunity for us to play against a team that beat us in our building in the first game of the year. And our process will never change.”
The Bears will fight for redemption against the Bulldogs and tune-up for the postseason at the Payne Whitney Gymnasium in New Haven at noon on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
Cooper Herman is a senior staff writer covering sports and arts & culture. He is a freshman from Alexandria, Virginia studying Economics and International and Public Affairs.
