M. Hoops' Rally Falls Short

Despite a choppy first half characterized by turnovers and offensive miscues, the Harvard men’s basketball team was able to mount a second-half comeback before falling 71-66 to Holy Cross last night.

Led by senior guard Patrick Harvey’s 13 second-half points, the Crimson roared back from a 35-22 halftime deficit, but was never able to pull even with the Crusaders.

“We’re an experienced team,” captain Brady Merchant said. “We had more experience on the floor than them, but we didn’t bring it tonight. We showed in the second half that we could play with them.”

After Holy Cross dictated the pace of the first half, Harvard (1-1) came out of the intermission energized, forcing four early turnovers on its way to an 18-8 run that closed the Crusaders’ lead to three just seven minutes into the half.

“We knew what we were doing wrong,” Merchant said. “We didn’t have enough energy [in the first half], but in the second half we showed more energy, more pressure on the ball, and that turned the game around for us.”

However, the Crimson could not muster another run as Holy Cross (2-1) seemingly answered every change in momentum with a neutralizing basket.

Crusader senior guard Brian Wilson drained three shots from three-point range in three minutes en route to a career high 27 points. Wilson found himself open on possession after possession down the stretch, and hit the open shots in response to the Harvard spurts.

“Certainly, we had no answers for Wilson through the course of the game,” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said.

Senior forward Sam Winter scored six points in the final 1:22 of the game, including a three-pointer with nine seconds left that pulled the Crimson within three. However, Holy Cross was able to shut the door by going a perfect six-for-six from the line in the final 47 seconds.

From the opening tip, the Crusaders established the pace of play, pushing the Crimson back on its heels.

“Holy Cross established the line of scrimmage to start the game and it was a line of scrimmage that we didn’t respond to,” Sullivan said.

The Crusaders rode a 12-0 run to an early lead fueled by five Crimson turnovers. Harvard stayed within striking distance with its perimeter shooting, as Merchant, freshman Michael Beal and Harvey all contributed key three-pointers.

Holy Cross responded to the charge with another 12-point outburst, establishing a 19-point lead—the largest of the game. Harvard answered with a six-point run to end a half in which the Crimson committed ten turnovers and only shot 38 percent from the field.

The Harvard bench came alive last night after seeing little time in this weekend’s opener, accounting for 12 points and four rebounds. The most noteworthy performance came from freshman center Brian Cusworth. Cusworth had seven points—none more emphatic than his dunk with 5:49 left that proved to be a key energy boost at a time when the Crimson seemed to be fading.

“It was encouraging to see him come in and respond, block a few shots, change some shots and run the floor,” Sullivan said.

Holy Cross had a significant size advantage, but that could have been neutralized in the second half as Crusader center Patrick Whearty encountered foul trouble. Whearty picked up his third foul with 16:52 left to go and his fourth with 10:15 left. Harvard didn’t press the situation and Whearty stayed in the game until fouling out with 1:22 remaining.

The Crimson’s next game will be at Stony Brook this Saturday. Harvard will return home to host BU next Tuesday at Lavietes Pavilion.