Gamecenter: Harvard 69, Columbia 59

Levien Gymnasium – New York, NY

Keys to the Game
Key sequence	The first ten minutes of the second half were nip and tuck, with neither team leading by more than two. With the game tied at 49, each team missed a three-pointer on three straight possessions. But after Harvard’s third miss, Brian Cusworth grabbed the rebound and put it back in to give the Crimson a two-point lead. After Matt Stehle came up with a steal at the other end, Zach Martin ended the string of missed threes with a big shot from the arc that put Harvard up five. Columbia would get no closer than three points the rest of the way.
Key sign it was over	After two John Baumann free throws cut the Lions’ deficit to six with 1:36 left, Cusworth was fouled and got the jumper to fall. The Harvard big man missed the free throw, but Baumann couldn’t answer with a jumper at the other end and Dragutin Kravic was called for a foul on the rebound. Stehle proceeded to drain a pair of free throws to give the Crimson a 10-point lead with 78 seconds left.
Key performance	Harvard’s Matt Stehle. The senior big man had a huge game with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and no turnovers while playing through foul trouble that limited him to 28 minutes.
Key statistic	Harvard’s 21-13 free throw edge. In a game that was very even in almost every other statistical category, the difference was Harvard’s 21-of-27 performance from the line compared to 13 of 16 for Columbia.

Notes
–	The contest featured 11 lead changes and eight ties. Columbia led by 10 at 16-6 and 18-8 early on, while Harvard’s largest lead was 12 in the final minutes.
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–	This was not an offensive showcase, with the two teams combining to shoot 42 of 112 (37.5 percent) overall and 10 of 39 (25.6 percent) from three-point range, while registering just 15 assists against 39 turnovers.
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–	Brett Loscalzo’s shooting woes continued, as the Columbia sophomore point guard missed all seven shots and all five attempts from outside the arc.
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–	Harvard freshman point guard Drew Housman was the game’s high scorer with 20 points, but had just one assist and four turnovers.
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–	In his first game since his explosion at Brown, Harvard’s Jim Goffredo struggled with his shooting, going 3-for-12 from the field and hitting just 2 of 8 three-point attempts.
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–	The Lions missed their final six shots of the game.

Basketball U.