Gamecenter: Mercer 73, Harvard 91

Posted on by Jake Wilson in Gamecenter, Harvard, Ivy League
1st 2nd Final
Mercer (1-2) 34 39 73
Harvard (2-2) 42 49 91
Lavietes Pavilion – Allston, MA Boxscore
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Mercer had rallied from down eight to take a 60-59 lead just past the midway point of the second half, but Harvard responded very well. Evan Harris found Andrew Pusar for a layup off a fastbreak to put the Crimson back in front, then Drew Housman pulled up for a transition jumper. Dan McGeary’s steal led to a Harris lay-in, and two possessions later Pusar assisted on a Jeremy Lin layup. Harvard again got out and ran, with Lin hooking up with Housman for a layup that capped off a string of 10 unanswered points for the Crimson, who led 69-60 with 6:33 remaining.
Key sign it was over Leading by 11 with under five minutes to play, Harvard got two offensive rebounds to keep its possession alive, then Lin got inside for a layup. Pusar came up with the defensive board at the other end and Drew Housman found Evan Harris on a run-out for a forceful, crowd-pleasing dunk that all but ended the game. When Housman came up with a steal and laid it in, Mercer found itself down 17 with 3:34 to play.
Key performance Lin was all over the court for Harvard and very nearly had a triple-double. The sophomore had a career-high 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting, swooped in for nine boards, and doled out nine assists. Lin even notched a block and assist, and committed just one turnover in 35 minutes.
Key statistic The Crimson blistered the nets in the second half, shooting 19 of 27 (70.4 percent). During one 7:39 stretch late in the game, Harvard put up 30 points, scoring on 14 of its 16 possessions and shooting 12 of 15 from the floor during that span, during which the Crimson outscored the Bears 30-8.
Notes

– Housman also had a very strong game for Harvard with 19 points, five assists, and three steals, while Harris had 16 points and nine boards.

– The Crimson held the Bears’ All-Atlantic Sun backcourt of James Florence and Shaddean Aaron in check, forcing the pair into 8-for-31 shooting and 20 points — well below the combined 43 points per game the guards were averaging in their first two games.

– Harvard pounded Mercer on the offensive glass, rebounding at 51.4 percent offensively. The visitors also had 17 offensive boards, but their 36.2-percent offensive rebounding trailed the Crimson’s by a significant margin.

– The game was an enjoyable affair, played at a relatively quick tempo with 68 possessions per side — yet only 23 combined turnovers between the two teams.

– Harvard repeatedly gouged the Mercer defense to get to the hoop, and the result was a 54-36 edge in points in the paint.

– The Crimson is back in action on Tuesday, November 20, when it travels west on the Mass Pike to Worcester for a tough test against Holy Cross at 8:00 pm ET.

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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