Men's Hoops Blows Away D-3 Daniel Webster

The Harvard men’s basketball team kept its fans in the holiday spirit on Sunday, easily dispatching Daniel Webster, 94-51, at Lavietes Pavilion.

Though junior guard Jeremy Lin once again led the Crimson (6-5) statistically, many of Harvard’s bench players saw quality minutes against the Division III Eagles (3-4).

“[There’s] nothing like having a game, putting yourself in some situations and things, and you learn about your team a little bit,” Crimson coach Tommy Amaker said. “I was pleased that different players were able to give us good minutes and good effort.”

Harvard opened the game with an easy three-pointer from senior guard Drew Housman and never relinquished the lead.

Daniel Webster stuck with the team early in the game, shooting 48% from the floor in the first half. But turnovers turned out to be the Eagles’ downfall, as their 25 giveaways led to 36 Crimson points.

Harvard, led by junior Dan McGeary’s three early three-pointers, shot 58.1% overall and 58.3% from beyond the arc in the first half. The Crimson led, 51-32, at the break.

As the second half opened, Daniel Webster began to fade. Harvard started a 31-10 run early in the half, including a streak of 11 straight points, to put the Eagles away.

Daniel Webster also found itself in foul trouble, dishing out 22 fouls compared to the Crimson’s 16. Harvard capitalized on those opportunities, shooting 21-of-25 from the charity stripe.

In just 25 minutes played, Lin put up a team-leading 16 points, seven boards, five assists and four steals.

“We feed off of Jeremy, and the little things that he does that ignite our ball club,” Amaker said. “He’s the catalyst and he’s been that way for us all season, and it doesn’t surprise me to see his stat line the way that it is.”

Lin ranks in the top 10 in the Ivy League in points, rebounds, assists and steals, one of just five players nationally to do so.

“I think that shows how talented or versatile this team is. I just need to drive and pass it out and we have so many shooters,” Lin said. “[Freshman] Peter Boehm has been playing out of his mind recently. So it’s just trying to do what I can, nothing special.”

In his fourth game in the starting lineup, Boehm continued to impress, scoring 14 points in 22 minutes. Boehm, who earned his second straight Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors for his performance, has finished in double figures in every game he has started.

“It’s been critical, his ability to stretch the defense because he’s a good shooter…That has enabled our team to have a little different dimension, and I like that with our ball club,” Amaker said.

Freshman Max Kenyi and Housman scored 11 points apiece.

But most impressive were the contributions of players who haven’t seen much action, like freshman center Peter Swiatek.

In 18 minutes played, Swiatek put up nine points and six rebounds, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from both the floor and the free-throw line.

“I thought his effort was tremendous. I was very happy to see him get the minutes that he was able to get today because he’s deserved it, and he made the best use out of it,” Amaker said.

Freshman Hugh Martin made his Crimson debut, playing 10 minutes and bringing down three rebounds.

The easy victory gives Harvard confidence heading into a tough stretch of games that will culminate with the team’s Ivy League opener on Jan. 10.

“We have a two-game win streak…but we’re trying to build momentum for the Ivy League. We’re trying to find our identity, trying to figure out what we can improve on in terms of defense to try to take us to our goal, which is winning an Ivy League championship,” Lin said.