Crimson Crush Crusaders for First Win This Season

In its home opener against Holy Cross last night at Lavietes Pavilion, the Harvard men’s basketball team came out strong, looking to rebound from a 13-point loss to George Mason last Saturday. Led by co-captain Keith Wright’s 18 points, sophomore guard Brandyn Curry’s 12 assists, and strong team defense, the Crimson dominated the Crusaders and won its sixth straight home opener, 72-49.

Harvard (1-1) came out aggressively, taking a 16-2 lead in the first seven minutes of action against a Holy Cross (0-2) team that returned four out of its five starters from a year ago.

“I’m very, very pleased with our effort, our intensity, and our defense,” Crimson coach Tommy Amaker said. “From the start of the game we were energized and excited.”

Junior co-captain Oliver McNally set the tone early, sinking a three-pointer to open the scoring. The Crusaders tallied the next basket, but those were the only points Holy Cross would score over the first seven minutes. Harvard sophomore Christian Webster answered with a three pointer, the first of two on the night for the guard. Curry followed with a mid-range jump shot to put the Crimson ahead 8-2.

After a layup from junior forward Andrew Van Nest and two free throws from Wright, Harvard closed a 14-point run with a crowd-pleasing alley-oop by freshman center Ugo Okam. Although Okam played just nine minutes on the night, the freshman made an impression with three blocks and two dunks.

On defense, the Crimson had similar success, limiting the Crusaders to 39.6 percent shooting and finishing with nine blocks. The team’s defense was also instrumental in igniting Harvard’s offense, as the Crimson scored 22 points off turnovers.

“We didn’t take a lot of bad shots that put us in a bad position to try to get back,” Amaker said. “If you run good offense, there’s a good chance that you’re going to be back and [get] set on defense.”

The team was changing its approach after a disappointing 66-53 loss to the Patriots in its season opener. In the words of Amaker, the team needed to “regroup and respond.” Harvard’s recovery was strong and successful.

“Once we focus on defense and we’re getting the ball and they’re missing shots…we’re able to get into our offense quickly and get open shots and good shots,” McNally said.

At building an early lead, the Crimson cruised for the rest of the half, leading Holy Cross, 32-14, going into the break.

With the game all but decided, the Crusaders rallied in the second period, doubling their number of field goals from six to 12. Holy Cross also shot 75 percent from beyond the arc after missing all three attempts in the first half. Their improved offense managed to score 35 points in the frame but still fell well short of Harvard.

The Crimson was buoyed by another standout performance from Wright. Coming off his second career double-double against George Mason, the forward scored a team-high 18 points, 16 of them coming in the second half. Harvard also benefitted from an all-around effort from Curry, who filled out the stat sheet with 10 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds, and five steals.

The Crusaders were led offensively by guard R.J. Evans, who netted 13 points after shooting four-of-seven in the second half. Guard Devin Brown and forward Dave Dudzinski also chipped in with eight points apiece.

Preseason All-Patriot League First Team selection Andrew Keister finished with zero points and fouled out with nine minutes left to play.

The first victory of the season under its belt, the Crimson is hopeful as it continues its non-conference schedule, even as sophomore forward Kyle Casey recovers from a broken foot.

“I love the spirit of our team right now, and I love the future of our program, and I think the younger guys are coming [along],” Amaker said. “For our kids to be able to do what they’re doing right now with some of those pieces not here for us, I think bodes well for our program in the future.”