Harvard Steals Game From LIU

The Harvard men’s basketball team got back on the winning track last night, but not without a struggle.

The Crimson (6-3) forced just enough defensive turnovers to overcome a pesky Long Island squad 91-79 at Lavietes Pavilion.

“Our club can exhale finally,” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. “The music is back on in the locker room.”

The Blackbirds (2-4) shot 51 percent from the field and 42 from three, as the slashing of guards Randy Jones and James Williams created open looks for themselves and their teammates. But Long Island played the sloppiest basketball of the season, as it turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 27 Crimson points.

“Generating turnovers was important, because we couldn’t get the field goal defense down like we wanted,” Sullivan said. “You can’t have it both ways. If you’re going to go for steals and generate turnovers, you’re not going to have a low field-goal percentage defense.”

The Blackbirds came no closer than six down the stretch, 79-73, before freshman point guard Drew Housman and junior guard Jim Goffredo combined for an 8-0 run that sealed the deal.

Long Island forward Eugene Kotorbai nailed a three from the top of the arc with just over six minutes left in the game to cap a 9-2 run and pull the Blackbirds back within six, 70-64. A quick jumper by Goffredo and a breakaway layup by Housman put Harvard back up 10.

Housman set a career high with 18 points on the evening as well as three steals and three boards.

“I thought he could get to the rim a little bit tonight,” Sullivan said. “And that’s exactly what we told him to do...His numbers were terrific.”

“It was good for him to get back and have a good game tonight,” captain Matt Stehle added. “It was good to see Drew doing what he can do, getting to the line and penetrating.”

With 9:19 remaining in the contest, Long Island forward Paska Morkeliunas tossed Stehle aside in the paint, picking up his fourth foul of the game. Morkeliunas was awarded a technical foul in the aftermath, and Stehle hit both of the free-throws to put the Crimson ahead 64-53.

Stehle finished with a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double in the last four games.

“Guys were driving, and they set me up well for some easy baskets,” Stehle said.

The Blackbirds took control out of the intermission, erasing the two-point deficit and building a three-point lead, 51-48.

But Harvard responded with a 12-point run, seven of which came from the hands of Stehle, as the Crimson pulled ahead 60-51 with 10:40 left.

Trailing 14-13 early in the first half, Harvard ran off a 13-4 run to take its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes. Long Island answered with a 13-3 run of its own to pull back ahead 31-29.

Senior forward Zach Martin, who finished with 13 points, hit his second three of the first half to give the Crimson a 34-33 advantage, and Harvard headed into the locker room with a 38-36 lead.

“Zach had a great game tonight,” Stehle said. “He’s a good shooter and he’s capable of going off in any game.”

Stehle chipped in 10 points in just 12 minutes in the first half, as he sat out the final seven minutes of the opening period due to foul trouble.

The Crimson hits the road this weekend to take on Albany at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.