Gamecenter: Brown 88, Harvard 92

1st 2nd Final
Brown (6-13, 1-3 Ivy) 31 57 88
Harvard (9-9, 2-2) 40 52 92
Lavietes Pavilion – Allston, MA Boxscore
 
Postgame audio: Frank Sullivan | Brian Cusworth
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Damon Huffman drew Brown to within four with a three-point at the 8:23 mark of the second half. After the two teams traded missed threes, Drew Housman drove the lane for a layup. Mark McAndrew was whistled for a foul at the other end, then Evan Harris showed good perserverance by putting back his own miss from point-blank range. Mark McAndrew misfired on a three-pointer, and Andrew Pusar hit two free throws to push Harvard’s lead back to double digits. Marcus Becker responded with a layup, but Jim Goffredo drilled a long three-pointer to give the Crimson a 74-63 advantage with 5:42 remaining.
Key sign it was over A McAndrew layup made it an 86-78 game with 47 seconds left, and Jeremy Lin leaked out on the inbounds play for a breakaway layup, but didn’t use the glass, and the ball rolled off the rim. At the other end, McAndrew drilled a three-pointer to make things interesting. Goffredo went 1-for-2 at the line, then Colin Aldrige connected from outside the arc to make it a one-possession game. Housman and Becker traded free throws, before Brad Unger hit one of two to make it a 90-86 contest with 14 ticks on the clock. Matt Mullery scored on a layup with eight seconds remaining to bring Brown within two, but Unger hit both free throws with five seconds left to put away the game.
Key performance Brian Cusworth capped off his Harvard career with an outstanding game against a Brown defense that seemed bent on denying him the ball. Cusworth scored 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting and hit all four free throws, while grabbing six boards. He was an imposing presence in the paint defensively for the Crimson as well, blocking three shots.
Key statistic Harvard has struggled with its shooting at times this season, but the Crimson lit up Brown’s zone to the tune of 61.2-percent shooting. Harvard hit 14 of 20 (70.0 percent) attempt in the second half to hold off a strong charge from Brown.
Notes

– Goffredo snapped out of a four-game shooting slump with a team-best 20 points on 7-for-11 shootings — including 4 of 8 from three-point range. Harris also had a strong game with 18 points, and made some very nice passes in the low post.

– Huffman led all scorers with 26 points, doing a lot of that damage at the line, where he was 13 of 14. Scott Friske had just his third double-digit scoring game as a sophomore with a season-best 18 points, including a 3-for-4 performance from outside the three-point arc.

– Cusworth fouled out on a loose ball foul underneath the basket with 1:34 left in the game, and received a nice ovation from both schools’ fans as he exited the floor for the final time.

– Brown’s trapping zone didn’t generate many turnovers in the first half, but it was a big part of the Bears’ second-chalf comeback. Harvard committed seven of its 15 turnovers during a 5:30 stretch shortly after halftime.

– Brown grabbed 30.8 percent of the rebounds at its offensive end, while holding Harvard to 27.3-percent offensive rebounding. The Bears actually owned a 12-8 edge in second-chance points.

– The game featured 48 fouls and 56 free throw attempts between the two teams, who were very efficient at the line. Brown shot 22 of 26 (84.6 percent) and Harvard was 25 of 30 (83.3 percent).

– Both teams will be home next weekend, as Brown welcomes back former coach Glen Miller and Penn (11-7, 2-0 Ivy), while Harvard hosts Columbia (10-8, 1-3 Ivy) on Friday, February 2 at 7:00 pm ET.

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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