Crimson Offense Runs Past Lions

Blink a couple of times, and you would have missed it.

Ninety seconds into Friday night’s men’s basketball matchup against Columbia, sophomore wing Christian Webster drove baseline and hit a reverse layup—allaying concerns about his recently injured hip while giving the Crimson an early 4-2 lead.

Just nine seconds later, Lions star Noruwa Agho drove to his right and banked in a floater to tie the game. Harvard sophomore Brandyn Curry led an immediate fast break off the made basket, going coast to coast for a layup.

The early three-possession sequence—a trio of baskets scored in 17 seconds of action—illustrated the ability of both Ivy squads to push the pace, of which the Crimson took great advantage on its way to a 77-66 win.

Boasting the highest-scoring offense in the league and the 78th-fastest tempo in the nation, the Lions were beaten at their own game. Harvard accumulated 16 fast-break points by game’s end on the willingness of players like Curry and junior co-captain Oliver McNally to look up the court and move the ball.

“Coach is always telling me to set the pace, get the ball in the goal,” Curry said. “Every time I get the ball, I’m looking to push. Our first look is to score something in transition.”

To be sure, the Crimson made mistakes getting back on defense, giving up several easy lay-ins in the first half. But it was emphatic second-half scores in transition that both pleased the crowd and helped permanently extend Harvard’s lead.

AGHO A GO GO

Columbia’s hopes of springing a road upset centered on the play of Agho, who averages a league-best 16.9 points per game.

The Lion leader may have picked up a season-high 27 points during his latest trip to Lavietes, but it took him 20 field goal tries to do so. In hopes of slowing the sharpshooter, Amaker threw a number of defenders at him, including the physical Curry, Webster, and rookie guard Matt Brown.

Also a wide receiver on the football team, the imposing Brown received a season-high 18 minutes against Columbia, a strong follow-up to his performance in the team’s previous game against Dartmouth.

“We needed him to try to guard Agho,” Amaker said. “Matt has a role for us, being a physical guard on the perimeter. We rely on him, and we can count on him.”

Backcourt stalwarts Agho and sophomore Brian Barbour—Columbia’s only double-digit scorers—gave Harvard’s defense trouble all night, both on shooting from the outside and driving into the paint.

“They like to dribble the ball a lot, they get a lot of screens, and they’re crafty with the ball,” Curry said. “You got to stay disciplined, you got to stay down, you got to fight through the screens.”

But during the game’s key run, it was a pair of missed layups by Agho and Barbour, added to an Agho turnover, which set up Harvard’s momentum-changing baskets in transition.

TRUE GRIT

While Harvard certainly prides itself on its offensive balance, Friday night was all about the team’s toughness.

Taking a season-low 11 three-point attempts, the Crimson dominated the paint, totaling 40 points inside to its opponent’s 22.

Sophomore forward Kyle Casey and junior co-captain Keith Wright had 23 field goal attempts, nearly half of the team’s total. And faced with the big men of the top rebounding team in the Ancient Eight, the front-court pair picked up a combined 20 rebounds, helping their team win the overall battle, 40-30.

“He was very active, aggressive, and certainly did a heck of a job on the glass,” Amaker said of Casey. “[He] responded after not having a lot of rebounds against Dartmouth our last game; his turnaround was just outstanding.”

The squad’s six blocks—its most in five games—reinforced the message that Friday’s contest was relatively light on finesse. No player made this clearer than Harvard junior co-captain Oliver McNally, who went to the floor hard on several occasions.

“He got whacked around a bit,” Amaker said. “But I didn’t want to substitute for him. I wanted to make sure he got his butt up and leave him in the game.”

“I don’t think this team would be even close to as good without Oliver,” Casey added. “He always brings the fight.”

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.