Month That Began with Historic Win Ends with 7th Straight Loss for Men's Basketball

The Harvard men’s basketball team closed out 2007 in heartbreaking fashion, falling to UC Irvine (5-8), 80-77, in overtime Sunday afternoon at Lavietes Pavillion. It was the seventh consecutive loss for the Crimson (4-11).

Harvard, which still has not won since its memorable upset of Michigan on Dec. 1, blew an 18-point lead in the second half of its final tune-up before kicking off its Ivy League slate at home versus Dartmouth on Saturday.

“It’s a tough, crushing loss,” coach Tommy Amaker said.

The Crimson took a 33-24 lead into halftime, thanks in part to sophomore forward Pat Magnarelli’s 11 points and six rebounds in the first 20 minutes, and expanded its cushion to 18 with 14:11 remaining in regulation.

But the Anteaters, aided by a rash of Harvard turnovers, stormed back. Trailing by 14 with 5:26 left, they went on a 8-0 spurt, and with 15 seconds remaining in the second half, Irvine junior guard Brett Lauer sank a three-pointer to tie the game at 67. In all, the Anteaters finished regulation on a 22-8 run.

Sophomore guard Jeremy Lin scored eight of Harvard’s 10 points in overtime, trading baskets with Irvine senior forward Patrick Sanders, who put up nine points of his own in the extra period. A turnover from junior Drew Housman, one of 11 giveaways by the point guard on the afternoon, with 53 seconds to play led to a jumper by Sanders, giving Irvine a three-point lead with 22 seconds on the clock.

The Crimson had a few opportunities to tie the game in the last seconds, but none of its shots fell.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Amaker said. “We had great energy, emotion and execution in the first half.”

Harvard did come out strong, taking the lead just over a minute into the game and holding it for the next 38 minutes. Strong defense and balanced scoring were the keys to the Crimson’s first-half success, and junior forward Evan Harris added a breakaway dunk to please the home crowd.

Harvard received double-doubles from Lin (20 points, career-high 13 rebounds) and Magnarelli (17 points, 12 rebounds), while Harris added 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

“[Magnarelli and Harris] did a tremendous job and really got their confidence up,” Amaker said.

Senior captain Brad Unger made his first start since returning from a foot injury in late November and bolstered a strong frontcourt effort, putting up a season-high 10 points.

Anteaters center Darren Fells scored a game-high 24 points.

The Crimson outrebounded the Anteaters, 45-24, but was undone by its turnovers.

“26 turnovers is the stat of the game,” Amaker said.

The Crimson’s woes did not stop there, though. Despite Irvine’s foul trouble late in the game, Harvard failed to make several critical free throws down the stretch that could have put the game away.

The Crimson now turns its attention to its Ivy League opener. Tip-off against 5-6 Dartmouth is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Lavietes.

“I would have loved to have gone into [the Dartmouth game] with a fresher start,” Amaker said. “Hopefully we can make a run at it playing better basketball.”

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.