Holy Cross Denies Comeback Attempt

WORCESTER, MA—As it goes with size and speed in basketball, it is said you can’t have it all.

The problem for coaches and players alike is to figure out which one to go with. Last night, on its home court, Holy Cross went with size and Harvard countered with speed. The result was an 80-69 victory for the Crusaders at the Hart Center.

Pounding the ball down low with 6’11” center Tim Clifford and 6’9” forward Alex Vander Baan, Holy Cross (4-0) was able to dominate the interior frontcourt, which proved to be the difference in the game.

The height advantage was evident inside with the Crusaders’ 33-23 rebounding edge, including 15 offensive rebounds against the Crimson (2-3), who very often found their box-outs neutralized by Holy Cross size. The Crusaders also held a 46-30 edge on points in the paint, and scored 15 points on second chances.

For part of the second half, however, Harvard proved that speed can compete with size. On the strength of its transition offense, some timely shooting, and scrappy defense, the Crimson was able to fight back from a 15-point deficit to tie the game at 62 apiece with 5:56 left in the game.

Junior guard Andrew Pusar hit a big three-point shot to bring Harvard back to within one, and on the ensuing possession, drove to the basket and found sophomore forward Pat Magnarelli inside. Magnarelli, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, made the layup and got fouled for an and-one attempt to take the lead.

Magnarelli missed the free throw, however, and Holy Cross went back to its bread-and-butter, finding Clifford inside and then shutting off the driving lanes for the Crimson on the defensive end. That was as far as Harvard pushed, as it seemed to have used up all its intensity getting back into the game and not saving enough for closing it out.

“We ran out of gas, we didn’t have that last push,” junior guard Drew Housman said. “We got back and tied the game, but we couldn’t get over the hump.”

The Crimson found itself in a 10-point hole at the half due to inconsistent play and its lack of interior size. That allowed Holy Cross to stop drives to the basket and pick up easy points around the rim. Harvard’s inbounding defense was also lacking, after the Crusaders picked up easy points with open shots on crisp passes after stopped play.

“We dug ourselves a hole,” coach Tommy Amaker said. “I’m disappointed with the way we started up.”

The Crimson also had nine turnovers in the first half, seven of which came in the first five minutes. This, along with good off-the-ball movement on offense, allowed Holy Cross to build at 27-12 lead with 7:48 left in the first half.

Harvard was able to stem the Crusader onslaught by switching between zone and man-to-man defenses, which knocked Holy Cross off-balance and out of its offensive groove.

“We needed to try to change the rhythm of the game,” Amaker said. “We weren’t getting any consecutive stops so I thought by changing the defense we could change the rhythm of their team.”

There were bright spots for Harvard throughout the game. With the Crimson struggling to match the Crusaders inside, sophomore forward Doug Miller came off the bench and was able to contribute some defense on Clifford.

“I thought [Miller] gave us some tough minutes off the bench,” Amaker said, adding, “I think tonight could be a really strong, positive step forward for him.”

Housman, who has been providing offense all season, sank a big shot that began the Crimson comeback attempt in earnest.

Just five minutes into the second half, after Holy Cross nailed a three to push the lead to 53-43, Housman dribbled up the court, pulled up, and calmly answered with a three of his own, cutting the lead back down to seven. He finished with a team-high 19 points and also added four assists.

Harvard used the momentum generated from that shot to outscore the Crusaders 19-9 over then next ten minutes.

“When we started that run, we were thinking about getting stops down low, getting boards, and running on the offensive end,” sophomore shooting guard Jeremy Lin said.

Lin was second on the team with 15 points, coming off a near-triple-double performance (23-9-9) against Mercer.

In the end, size won out, as Holy Cross closed out the game with an 18-7 run of its own.

“They’re physical, strong, they finish around the goal better than we do,” Amaker said. “I think that was the difference in the game: their interior play against ours.”