NOTEBOOK: Rebounds Tell Game’s Story

In the Harvard men’s basketball team’s 83-75 win over Lehigh on Saturday afternoon, the Crimson claimed victory partly due to its strongest rebounding game this season.

The Mountain Hawks entered the game out-rebounding the competition by 5.3 boards a game, the second best margin in the Patriot League. Thus, Harvard’s 37-33 besting of Lehigh on the glass looked all the more impressive. When you break down this statistic into offensive and defensive rebounds, the Crimson improved on its season average at both ends of the floor.

While Lehigh out-rebounded Harvard 18-15 on offense, Harvard still dramatically improved on its average of 10.25 offensive rebounds per game this season. When the Crimson built a 41-22 first-half lead, its players dominated Lehigh in offensive rebounds 9-2.

“It was really such a plus, especially in the first half,” Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said. “Some guys got on the boards early.”

Moreover, Harvard’s second chances on offense were not wasted, as the Crimson scored a total of 20 second chance points during the game.

On defense, Harvard out-rebounded Lehigh 22-15 to improve on its seasonal average of 19 defensive rebounds per game. Once again, the Crimson performed strongest in this category during the first half, as the team took advantage of Lehigh’s sub-par 36 percent shooting from the floor during the first half to secure 11 defensive rebounds.

“I give credit to Harvard for going and attacking the glass,” Lehigh Coach Billy Taylor said. “I thought [that in] the second half, we showed a lot more heart and emotion rebounding the basketball. It looked a lot more like one of our teams.”

KING JAMES

Junior guard James Lambert, a reliable bench player who had managed only four rebounds in his career prior to Saturday, proved instrumental at both ends of the court, as he pulled down a total of five rebounds (two offensive, 3 defensive) in 16 minutes of play.

This came one game after Lambert did not play at all in Tuesday’s 82-69 home loss to Holy Cross.

“James came off the bench and tried to make hustle plays and that’s what you try to get everybody to do,” Sullivan said. “It was great to see, especially after not getting into the game on Tuesday.”

Lambert also recorded his first career blocked shot in the first half, and scored a career-high five points, which included his first-ever collegiate three-point field goal.

BALL CONTROL

In addition to a stellar rebounding performance, the Crimson boasted a 1.08 assist-to-turnover ratio, dishing out 14 helpers against 13 giveaways, the first time all season that Harvard’s assists exceeded its turnovers. The Crimson took advantage of 14 Lehigh turnovers to outscore the Mountain Hawks 21-14 on points off turnovers...Even down low, where Lehigh outscored its opponents 42-18 in the three games prior to Saturday, the Crimson emerged on top, outscoring the Mountain Hawks 34-30 in the paint...Harvard’s bench injected fresh vigor into the game, as the reserves scored 24 points while giving the starters a chance to regain their energy. Junior forward Brad Unger exemplified this strong bench play, as his 11 points equaled his career-high, set last year in a win against Albany.