Men's Basketball Overcomes Lackluster Shooting, Defeats Brown, 52-45

For a small-ball team that usually makes its big plays on the outside, Friday night’s matchup against Brown was fought and won on the inside.

Going up against arguably the best frontcourt in the Ivy League in sophomore Cedric Kuakumensah and junior Rafael Maia—the top shot blocker and second-leading rebounder, respectively—the Crimson men’s basketball team turned to freshman forward Zena Edosomwan to provide the offensive spark it needed to remain undefeated in the Ancient Eight. Edosomwan did just that, leading his team to a 52-45 over Brown.

Hosting the Bears (12-8, 4-2 Ivy) at Lavietes Pavilion in its lowest-scoring game of the season, Harvard (18-4, 5-1) looked to the bench when its starters couldn’t get the job done. Junior wing Wesley Saunders—the Crimson’s typical top scorer—was held to six points on the night, though he made his presence felt defending the conference’s leading scorer, Brown guard Sean McGonagill.

“If he doesn’t lock in defensively, we don’t win,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “How he played on the offensive end is one thing, but if he doesn’t turn around and get up the floor and do the job he does, then I am not sure we are able to come out with a victory.”

Brown jumped out to its largest lead of the night with six minutes remaining in the first half when forward Leyland King put the Bears up four with a quick midrange jump shot. On the other end, junior forward Steve Moundou-Missi converted an easy layup to bring the Crimson within two. Edosomwan proceeded to knock down two free throws to tie the game up, 17-17.

Harvard finished the half on a 10-4 run, with Edosomwan fighting for the last possession and ultimately putting away his own rebound with 12 seconds on the clock. Brown did not make a field goal in the final six minutes of the period, with three of four points coming from guard Norman Hobbie at the line. Edosomwan scored nine of his team-high 12 points in the seven minutes before intermission.

“[Edosomwan] is a hard worker,” Moundou-Missi said. “He is always the last one in the gym…and he has been working on his game. Even though he wasn’t playing at the beginning of the year, he took it upon himself to get better every day.”

The Crimson kept up its energy after the break, jumping out to a 15-point lead within three minutes.

While the Crimson held its lead for the next 10 minutes, the Bears began to crawl back with five minutes to play. Big defensive stops kept Brown from regaining the lead, but the Bears made it a one-possession game with two minutes left on the clock thanks to a pair of free throws from guard Tavon Blackmon. The freshman led Brown with 11 points on the night.

“The key for us winning tonight was our defensive [effort] overall,” Amaker said. “We take a lot of pride in that. That is the first thing we talk about as part of our identity, and I thought that our entire team takes that to heart. We had some breakdowns, but I thought for the full game our kids gave a tremendous effort.”

Harvard caught a break with a minute left to play after a pair of Saunders free throws opened up a five-point gap. McGonagill travelled, giving the Crimson the ball. The Bears came down with the defensive board on the next possession, but Hobbie’s three-point attempt at the other end went long, and Maia picked up a foul battling Moundou-Missi for the rebound. Moundou-Missi hit both free throws with 20 seconds left on the clock and swatted Blackmon’s layup attempt on the Bears’ last possession to secure the win for the Crimson.

Brown outrebounded Harvard, 46-39, but the Crimson capitalized on its second chances more efficiently. In a game in which shots weren’t falling and Harvard tallied its second-lowest shooting mark of the season—just over 32 percent from the field—the home squad held Brown to an even lower success rate. The Bears shot at a 27 percent clip from the field, including 12.5 percent from deep.

“It was just one of those nights,” Saunders said. “Luckily we were able to lock down on defense. I just wanted to stay focused on defense because regardless [of your offensive performance] you can control defense. You can’t always control the shot. Defensively you can always bring energy and try to do the best job you can.”

—Staff writer Hope Schwartz can be reached at hschwartz@college.harvard.edu.