Gamecenter: Vermont 73, Harvard 68

Posted on by Jake Wilson in Gamecenter, Harvard, Ivy League
1st 2nd Final
Vermont (3-6) 42 31 73
Harvard (4-8) 27 41 68
Lavietes Pavilion – Allston, MA Boxscore
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Harvard had ripped off a 24-3 run to claim a four-point lead, but Vermont came right back with 12-2 spurt of its own. Andrew Pusar’s fastbreak layup off an Evan Harris steal had put the Crimson up 53-49 eight minutes into the second half and led to a timeout for the visitors. Pusar had a chance to add to the advantage, but his layup attemp was blocked, and Jeremy Lin was off the mark on a three-point attempt. Eventually, Timothy McCrory’s bucket brought Vermont within two, and after two more fruitless possessions for the Crimson, a McCrory dunk drew the Catamounts even. Mike Trimboli’s layup was answered by two Lin free throws, before McCrory gave Vermont the lead for good with a pair of free throws with 7:34 remaining. While Harvard was turning over the ball, Trimboli hit a pair of jumpers in the lane to put the Crimson in a six-point hole.
Key sign it was over Trailing by eight with 3:01 left, Harvard staged one final comeback attempt. Lin’s basket made it 69-63 at the 2:43 mark, then after the two teams traded misses, McCrory committed a turnover and Drew Housman sank a three-pointer to bring the Crimson within three with 1:16 to play. Pat Magnarelli then came up with a steal and was fouled, hitting both free throws to make it a one-point game with just under a minute remaining. Vermont ran the shot clock down under three seconds before drawing a foul, and Nick Vier was perfect at the line. Housman got a look at tying three-pointer, but it was off the mark. Magnarelli rebounded, but turned in back over to the Catamounts. Trimboli converted both free throws, and a pair of desperation three-pointers wouldn’t drop for the Crimson in the final seconds, as Harvard lost its fourth in a row.
Key performance Trimboli finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including 3 of 8 from three. He also added five assists, three rebounds, and three steals in 37 minutes.
Key statistic Vermont manhandled Harvard on the boards, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds to just 17 defensive boards for the Crimson (51.4 percent offensive rebounding). The Catamounts also limited their hosts to just 28.2 percent rebounding at their offensive end, resulting in a 15-7 edge in second-chance points.
Notes

– Lin led four Harvard starters in double figures with 18 points, but shot just six of 15 from the floor.

– McCrory had 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and added a team-high eight rebounds for Vermont.

– Despite shooting just 37.3 percent, the Crimson was able to hang around by creating turnover, forcing the Catamounts in 23 while committing just 14. However, Harvard’s 27-21 edge in points off turnovers was smaller than one would expect.

– Harvard became the first Ivy team to lose to Vermont this season, as Dartmouth and Yale previously had defeated the Catamounts in their home gyms.

– The Crimson also had a big edge at the free throw line — in terms of attempts (26 to 16), percentage (76.9 to 56.3 percent), and scoring (20 to 9).

– Vermont’s Nick Vier was assessed a technical foul during Harvard’s big run early in the second half.

– The Crimson will try to snap its skid on Wednesday, December 19, when it travels to local rival Northeastern for a 7:00 pm ET start.

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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