Lin's Triple-Overtime Shot Gives Harvard Thrilling Win

Trailed by a throng of ecstatic teammates, co-captain Jeremy Lin leapt and ran up the wall at the near end of Lavietes Pavilion. It was an appropriate celebration for Harvard’s superhero, who had just come up huge in the clutch yet again.

The star guard nailed a 30-foot desperation shot as the buzzer sounded, ending a three-overtime thriller and giving his team an 87-85 win over William & Mary in the home opener for the Crimson (2-0).

“That was a prayer—God just guided it into the hoop, that’s the best way I can describe it,” Lin said.

Guard Quinn McDowell had a game-high 23 points for the Tribe (0-2), which trailed much of the contest before rallying from 13 points down to force overtime.

Neither team could maintain a lead for the first two extra five-minute periods, but it looked like William & Mary had finally grabbed the advantage for good, when guard Sean McCurdy banked in a layup with four seconds to play, putting the Tribe up, 85-84.

Everyone in the building knew who would end up with the ball.

Taking the inbound pass with time ticking away, Lin sprinted down the floor and was bumped near the half-court line. Unfazed, he took a couple more steps inside the marker and ran into a Tribe defender, who sent him tumbling to the ground—but not before Lin let fly with one of the biggest and most improbable shots of his career.

He likely would have been granted three foul shots if the long try had not gone in, but the outcome suited Lin just fine.

“I had free throws coming up, but I’m just glad I didn’t even have to worry about that,” Lin said. “We’ll take that at this point.”

Though he led his team with 19 points and nine assists, Lin didn’t do it alone. His fellow stalwart in the backcourt, sophomore Oliver McNally, had 17 points, including a three-pointer on his team’s first possession in the third overtime.

But in a matchup dominated by the play of guards, the Crimson frontcourt came through in the end.

“[Senior] Pat [Magnarelli] and [sophomore] Keith [Wright], those two guys in particular, were the difference for us,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said.

Wright and Magnarelli combined for 24 points and 14 rebounds, much of which came after regulation ended.

In only his second game since an injury prematurely brought his season to a close two years ago, Magnarelli played 23 minutes and had a key dunk and block in the first overtime.

“I felt pretty good out there, just trying to get back to my sophomore year,” the senior forward said.

But a sore spot came with less than 20 seconds to play, when Magnarelli snagged a key rebound of a William & Mary three-pointer and was subsequently fouled. He had a chance to extend the Crimson advantage to three, but both of his free throws rimmed out, allowing the Tribe a chance to take back the lead.

“The only way that Pat could have capped it...would have been to make those two free throws,” Amaker said. “Other than that, he was absolutely outstanding.”

As a part of the Crimson’s efforts to move to a smaller, three-guard lineup, the sophomore center Wright didn’t play most of the second half, and his absence was noticeable.

“We have a bad habit of not running any offense, just stalling for twenty seconds,” Magnarelli said. “In the second overtime, we got the ball down low to Keith, and he got two or three quick buckets.”

Wright rose to the occasion when he reentered the game.

He opened up the third overtime with a help-side block of a layup attempt, and a minute later spun and banked in a shot in the post to give Harvard the lead.

“I thought he ran with it and did the best we’ve seen him play,” Amaker said.

Crimson defensive lapses had allowed the Tribe to claw its way back from a 13-point deficit during regulation. William & Mary had 18 attempts at the line in the second half and seized a 14-2 advantage in second-chance points.

But the Crimson ultimately took the win, and relished in the drama of its victory.

“In the past, we’ve lost these types of games in overtime—tough games where it’s back-and-forth the whole game,” Lin said. “I think just being able to pull through was huge for our team.”

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.