Without Crowd, Momentum Dies

The Crimson turned in one of its most disappointing games of the season in its Friday matchup against archrival Yale, but the ugly performance on the court was just one component of an overall depressing night at Lavietes Pavilion.

With sub-zero winds in the forecast and the Harvard student body in post-exam hibernation, the crowd on Friday night was as dull and lifeless as ever, drawing out any remaining life-blood from a supposed rivalry game that pitted a 5-10 Yale squad against an 8-8 Harvard team. Yale fans in attendance seemed to equal, if not exceed, Crimson supporters, and with no Harvard cheerleaders in sight, Yale’s cheerleading squad took the floor at every opportunity.

After the game, an 88-78 Bulldogs victory, Yale guard Casey Hughes—who shut down Harvard captain Jim Goffredo in an impressive display of individual defense—was swamped by a retinue of female fans as he made his exit from the arena, looking very much the big man on campus despite being 130 miles from New Haven.

“I wouldn’t say that there’s too much of a home-court advantage here [at Harvard],” said veteran Yale point guard Eric Flato, who played the entire 40 minutes of the contest. “Our students [at Yale] are right on the floor, and we usually get a pretty big turnout at the Harvard game.”

The Crimson opened the game strong and surged to an early double-digit lead before running into a wall. With a little over 11 minutes remaining in the first half, Crimson freshman point guard Jeremy Lin knocked a ball loose at halfcourt and threaded a perfect bounce pass through three Yale defenders to a cutting Drew Housman (16 points, one assist, five turnovers), whose fast-break layup gave Harvard a 24-13 lead and forced a Yale timeout as the Harvard bench jumped to its feet in celebration.

But the team effort dried up almost immediately. Harvard was outscored 75-54 the rest of the way, with its matador-like defense allowing Yale to shoot 62 percent in the first half and 58 percent on the game.

Brian Cusworth, whose 28-point, 10-rebound double-double was the sole bright spot in an otherwise abysmal Harvard showing, said the lack of support from the crowd may have helped contribute to the team’s lackluster effort—especially after Yale’s 24-16 surge to end the first half.

“I can’t make that excuse because we’ve played enough years here that we should be used to [the bad atmosphere],” Cusworth said. “But when you take a punch like they gave us at the end of the first half, it can carry over when you don’t have a home crowd behind you.”

Goffredo was kept in check all evening by Hughes, whose superior length, quickness, and strength helped limit Harvard’s second-leading scorer to just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field overall and 1-of-6 from three-point range. During a crucial stretch late in the second half with Harvard making a last-ditch effort to cut into the Yale lead, Hughes blocked three-point attempts by Goffredo on consecutive possessions. Overall, Goffredo—who led Harvard with 40 treys coming into the game—looked as uncomfortable shooting the ball as he has all season, hoisting several airballs on the night.

“Casey Hughes does a great job of defending shooters,” Yale coach James Jones said. “He’s as big and as strong at his position as anyone in the league, and he’s got size and strength over Goffredo, [which] makes it hard for [Goffredo] to get shots off.”

Hughes utilized his strength and size on the offensive end as well, scoring 16 points on ultra-efficient 8-of-10 shooting. He added six rebounds and two assists while committing only one turnover.