Notebook: Aiken Wills Men's Basketball, Haskett Carves Out Role

The 1,636 fans who packed Lavietes Pavilion on Sunday afternoon certainly got their money’s worth.

In an enthralling, heart-pounding clash between the Harvard men’s basketball team and the University of Massachusetts, sophomore guard Bryce Aiken nailed a three-point dagger in the waning seconds of overtime to give the Crimson (2-0) a 70-67 victory.

That shot has since been plastered all over social media, earning over 170 Twitter retweets and being featured on the official NCAA March Madness Twitter feed.

Aiken, already prominent around the circles of Cambridge, may have in that moment earned a bit of national recognition.

BRYCE WITH ICE IN HIS VEINS

At the preseason media day conference, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker unequivocally pronounced Aiken as the team’s best basketball player.

Despite a relatively inconsistent afternoon from the field, the Harvard point guard justified in crunch time exactly why Amaker made such a bold statement.

Aiken, who finished with a career-high 30 points and eight rebounds, was responsible for the last four points in regulation as well as eight of the Crimson’s 12 overtime points.

Going back and forth with Luwane Pipkins, the star sophomore point guard for the Minutemen (1-1), Aiken displayed his speed and versatility, breaking through the UMass defense for easy drives to the paint while showing prowess from the perimeter. A crucial step-back jumper from the left baseline with 3:47 to go in overtime allowed Harvard to jump out for a quick four-point lead, building momentum that the Crimson would extend to the end of the contest.

“Just playing together and having my teammates trust in me and me trusting them as well,”

Aiken said. “We have a lot of goals to accomplish and we are working toward that each and every day.”

Then came the three.

Holding on to a 67-64 lead with 17 seconds remaining, Harvard needed just one stop. Both teams knew the ball would be in the hands of Pipkins.

UMass’ leading scorer, who finished with 23 points on three-of-five shooting from three-point range, once again calmly sank the overtime bucket, tying the game at 67.

Amaker still had a timeout in his back pocket with eight seconds remaining. Rather than draw up a play, Amaker allowed Aiken to simply be Aiken and win the game on his own.

“We had plenty of time left to get it to him and we spaced the floor.” Amaker said, “Obviously with Bryce for us to be an amazing marksman and [that’s the] kind of the situation he loves to be in. That’s how he’s wired.”

HASKETT SOLIDIFIES HIS ROLE

Aiken’s resounding shot certainly overshadowed the performance of another critical contributor to the Crimson victory, freshman guard Rio Haskett. Despite not scoring a single bucket in the contest, Haskett displayed extreme acuity on the defensive end, particularly in guarding Pipkins.

Haskett not only tallied three critical steals late in the game, but allowed Aiken important time away from Pipkins on the defensive end. Pipkins did contribute important three-pointers in the tail end of the game, but without Haskett’s fearless play, the Minutemen certainly would have had a much easier time attacking the basket.

While still working on his shot, Haskett has solidified a role coming off the bench for Amaker. This addition will prove to be a critical one for the Crimson, especially when the 6’0” Aiken is matched with more physically-imposing point guards.

“I think it’s really big for our team, the psyche, the confidence, and certainly for our younger players,” Amaker said. “I thought we got it from a lot of different players, The balance is always big, the bench is always big, and we need to keep staying on our course.”

—Staff writer Henry Zhu can be reached at henry.zhu@thecrimson.com.