Harvard Loses Third in a Row on the Road

The upset of Michigan seems to be a long lost memory.

With an 88-77 loss at Long Island University’s Wellness Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. last night, the Harvard men’s basketball team (4-7) dropped its third straight contest since knocking off the Wolverines at Lavietes Pavilion on Dec. 1.

The Crimson never led, and the game’s outcome was hardly in doubt. Five straight points by Blackbirds’ freshman David Hicks helped Long Island jump out to a 7-0 lead in the game’s first two minutes, and Harvard would never get closer than five the rest of the way.

The Blackbirds (7-3) got double-digit scoring efforts from five players, led by senior Kellen Allen’s career-high 24 on 10-of-13 shooting. Allen wasn’t the only one with the hot hand for Long Island—as a team, the Blackbirds shot 55.9 percent from the field.

Senior Eugene Kotorobai contributed 17 points for Long Island, while shooting 5-for-6 from three-point range.

“We need to start locking down on defense,” junior Andrew Pusar said. “They had some quick guards getting into the paint. We have to keep the guards from penetrating, dishing to the big man, or passing to the open three.”

Harvard did get a career night out of sophomore forward Pat Magnarelli, who had career-highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort.

“He was fantastic, and did just a great job of finishing,” Pusar said. “We wanted to keep feeding him because of all his play—we hope that can continue.”

Sophomores Jeremy Lin and Dan McGeary combined for seven three-pointers, leading to 17 and 12 points, respectively.

Before the game, Crimson coach Tommy Amaker pointed to rebounding as one of the keys to a road victory. In the aftermath of another road loss, the coach’s message proved true yet again.

“There’s two things we always talk about, especially on the road: to value the ball and to box out,” Amaker said. “Those two areas really allow that home team to get some energy and whatever crowd is there to get into it.”

The Blackbirds outrebounded Harvard 37-29, and the Crimson turned the ball over 15 times to Long Island’s 12.

“I think [rebounding] has got to be a full team effort,” Pusar said. “With teams like this that are quick, athletic, it can’t just be one person. It has to be all five players crashing the boards.”

The Blackbirds led by 10 early, but a three-pointer by McGeary and lay-up by Magnarelli kept Harvard within striking distance at 22-17. Long Island used a 9-0 run from there to open up a 31-17 lead, and took a 46-34 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The Crimson began the second frame with a 7-1 run—all seven points were scored by Magnarelli and Pusar—to get within six, before the Blackbirds used a 13-3 run to open up their largest lead of the game, 60-44, with 13:20 remaining. 

Harvard pushed to get within six again at 67-61 after junior guard Drew Housman hit a three-pointer with 6:04 to play, but Long Island scored the next five points to thwart the Crimson’s rally.

The team’s virtually traded hoops the rest of the way for the final 11-point margin, and Lin scored Harvard’s last eight points.

“We don’t have time to get down,” Amaker said of his team’s recent road struggles. “It’s a long horse race—we have to get better, and we have to take responsibility.”

The Crimson has won all three of its home games this season, but it has struggled on the road. Other than an early season victory over Northwestern State at the Basketball Travelers’ Classic, Harvard has failed to win a game away from home.

With a road-heavy early Ivy League schedule—its first trip is to Penn and Princeton in early February—the Crimson must begin to pick up some away victories.

“We have to get some of those tough wins on the road,” Amaker said.

The Crimson returns to friendly Lavietes Pavilion on Sunday afternoon to take on Vermont at 2 p.m., looking to break this three-game slide while extending its three-game home winning streak.

—Staff writer Kevin C. Reyes can be reached at kreyes@fas.harvard.edu.