AOTW: Point Guard Holding A Full House

All season Drew Housman has been getting to the rim. Pretty soon he might be getting a reputation—as Harvard’s rising star.

The Harvard sophomore point guard showed a killer instinct in the Crimson’s last two victories, connecting on a number of late-game shots to help lift his team to improbable road wins over Vermont (UVM) and Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Housman averaged 20.5 points, four rebounds and three assists to go along with four three-pointers in the two contests, but it was his timely scoring and penetration that helped Harvard boost its road record to 5-1.

In Thursday’s 72-65 come-from-behind win over CCSU, in which the Crimson trailed by as many as 18, the California native nailed two triples early in the second half to cut the CCSU lead to 44-43. With Harvard leading and only a minute remaining, Housman iced the game with a straightaway three-point dagger. The shot silenced an anxious crowd and gave Harvard a 67-60 lead that forced CCSU to foul down the stretch.

The three treys notched a career-high for Housman, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

“Drew was determined to control the game,” Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said after the win. “He was terrific against an extremely athletic team and that last three-pointer was a testament to his mindset all night.”

His mindset in Harvard’s next game was just as good, if not better.

Matching up with reigning America East rookie of the year Mike Trimboli, Housman repeatedly slashed to the paint in erupting for a career-high 25 points in Harvard’s 84-76 road victory against battle-tested Vermont, a team that trumped then-14th-ranked Boston College on the road earlier in the season. Housman streaked for 16 points after halftime, including a crucial acrobatic layup in traffic with 1:53 left in overtime to stake Harvard to a 76-71 lead and all but seal the victory.

Vermont overplayed Harvard on the perimeter, helping to limit the Crimson’s long-range game to only three triples on the night—but opening driving lanes for Housman.

“When somebody’s pressuring you that much, it’s easy to just give them one move and go around them,” Housman said. “They never laid off the whole game, so I just kept taking it to the heart of the defense.”

Harvard Center Brian Cusworth, who added a monster 25 point, 16 rebound double-double in the win, had another take on Housman’s stellar play.

“Last year [Vermont Point guard] Trimboli gave it to Drew,” said Cusworth, referring to Harvard’s 65-57 win over Vermont in the 2005-06 season opener, in which Trimboli held Housman to just 2-of-7 shooting. “Drew really wanted to make up for last year, and I think he did a great job. He was amazing.”

Housman used a quick first step to repeatedly blow past Trimboli, forcing other Vermont defenders to collapse and foul the Crimson point guard. Vermont’s inability to keep Housman out of the paint resulted in his 10-for-14 showing from the charity stripe.

Housman’s combination of quickness and interior strength made him look unstoppable at times—particularly late in the game with Vermont over the foul limit.

“If they’re going to play me up that tight, then I’m definitely going to try to take over,” Housman said.

Housman played the entire overtime and logged 40 minutes total, but after the game denied feeling tired.

“When it’s that sort of a game and that sort of an environment, you don’t really notice how tired you are,” Housman said after the game, his face scratched and an ice-pack pressed to his shoulder. “When you’re out on the court you just have to zone it out.”

Housman added five rebounds, five assists and three steals in the win. On the season he is now averaging 13.8 points on 45 percent shooting, along with 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals. He has connected on 13 of 30 shots from three point range, and is shooting 77 percent from the free-throw line.

—PATRICK T. McGRATH