NOTEBOOK: Young Guns Power Crimson to Victory

In need of a win after back-to-back conference losses and forced to overcome a series of injuries to core players, the Crimson had a lot to ask of its young talent on Saturday night. Harvard’s underclassmen guards provided the answer the Crimson needed, and with a sold-out crowd blaring its support from the stands, the crew pushed Harvard to a definitive 80-66 win at Lavietes Pavilion.

Although their efforts were felt most during the final minutes of the game—when three players racked up four consecutive three-point shots to crush hopes of a Penn comeback—a large cast of guards put forth consistent efforts throughout the night to keep the Crimson comfortably ahead of its Ivy opponent. Sophomores Oliver McNally and Max Kenyi, along with freshmen Brandyn Curry and Christian Webster, helped keep the Quaker offense at bay while keeping the momentum—and score—in Harvard’s favor on the other end of the court.

Curry lit it up early for the Crimson, scoring five points in under a minute during Harvard’s 12-2 opening run. Curry’s shooting cooled down in the second, but the freshman looked comfortable running the Crimson offense in his first collegiate start; Curry tied for a game-high six assists and racked up three steals on defense.

Harvard coach Tommy Amaker reflected positively on Curry’s play, especially the guard’s defensive stand against Penn’s premier player, Zack Rosen.

“I was very pleased,” Amaker said. “He’s guarding arguably the kid that’s in the running for Conference Player of the Year in Rosen. He’s as good as anybody in our league. That’s an incredible matchup for any player, let alone for a freshman making a start after coming off of two losses.”

Kenyi walked out onto the court as a starter for the first time since he was injured in the fall. After being sidelined due to an MCL injury in November, Kenyi made a clear case for a successful recovery, putting up nine points and leading all Harvard players with seven rebounds.

The sophomore snagged an offensive rebound several minutes into the second half that translated to two points and helped stifle Penn’s rally efforts. At 17:42, freshman Kyle Casey launched a mid-range jumper that kissed the rim and bounced off. Kenyi then slipped into the box, leapt up to make the board, and converted on the ensuing, uncontested layup.

“Job well done by those two kids [Curry and Kenyi] in their assignments,” Amaker said.

BIG TIME PLAYER

With the majority of Harvard’s big men watching from the bench with injuries, co-captain Doug Miller also heeded a call to step up for the Crimson on Saturday night. The forward played a largely offensive role to start the game but was consistent throughout the night on defense as one of Harvard’s few options in the frontcourt.

“Doug’s been our leader all year,” Casey said. “He works day in and day out. I’m not really surprised he stepped up big for us tonight.”

Although Miller contributed a quiet nine points, he made his presence know at in the paint throughout the night and led all players with four offensive rebounds.

Working around a lack of big men, Amaker appreciated his co-captain’s efforts, particularly the 32 minutes Miller spent on the court.

“That’s a lot of minutes for Doug,” Amaker said. “Give all these kids credit for stepping up.”

FOUL PLAY

Free throws made the difference for the Crimson in the first half. Although Harvard led by nine, both Harvard and Penn made an equal number of buckets from the field. The Quakers narrowly edged out the Crimson in shooting percentage.

Penn’s downfall came in the 12 fouls it committed, which translated to 13 points for Harvard on 16 shots from the charity line. Throughout the first half, the Crimson committed only six fouls. This difference represented an important turnaround from the night before, when Princeton racked up 15 points off of free throws in a game decided by one possession.

The tables turned in the second half as Harvard reached the bonus mark with 3:28 to go. Penn’s 87 percent free-throw percentage and 15 points off of fouls alone in the second half chipped away at the Crimson’s lead and nearly allowed the visiting team to mount a successful comeback effort.

“I thought they were tremendous in using the foul line to get back in that ball game,” Amaker said.

—Staff writer Emmett Kistler can be reached at ekistler@fas.harvard.edu.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: February 8, 2010

An earlier version of the Feb. 8 sports article "NOTEBOOK: Young Guns Power Crimson to Victory" stated that sophomore Max Kenyi played "for the first time since the Crimson’s third game of the season." In fact, Kenyi's appearance was the first start since his MCL injury in November.