Norman Control Brown's Star Guard

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Score Jason vs. Jason part one for Mr. Norman.

Sure, captain Jason Norman poured in 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, but his most important contribution came on the defensive end of the floor.

Norman was charged with the task of shutting down Brown point guard, and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, Jason Forte.

Many had tried, but few had succeeded.

Forte entered the game having scored at least 15 points in five straight contests—including a career-high 36 the previous Friday night at Cornell. He had been held under 15 points just four times this season—none of which came during Ivy play.

During the 9-2 Harvard run to start the contest, Forte struggled to find his shooting stroke, missing two three-point attempts. By the 13:58 mark, he added another missed jumper, a turnover, and a 1-for-2 trip to the stripe.

For nearly 15 minutes, Norman held Forte without a field goal, until the 6’1 senior nailed a three-pointer to bring the Bears within one, 20-19. That would be Forte’s first and last make of the half, as he went just 1-of-6 from the floor before the break and registered just one assist.

“The most encouraging part of the game was that [Norman] held Forte to just one basket before halftime,” junior center Brian Cusworth said. “He did an awesome job.”

With all of his energy focused on the job of stopping Forte, Norman’s offensive game struggled, as he went just 1-of-3 from the field for just two points before the intermission.

“At halftime, he wasn’t as happy as you would have thought, because he was struggling offensively,” Cusworth said. “He was frustrated because he wasn’t in the rhythm of his game.”

The rest of the Brown offense failed to pick up the slack while Forte remained neutralized. The Bears took 37 shots in the opening period, but made just 11 (29.7 percent) and went 2-for-11 from three. Brown was saved by its intense effort on the offensive boards, as it picked up 12 of its 22 first-half rebounds on the offensive glass.

“We talked about the fact that the defensive rebounding quotient wasn’t high enough for us [at halftime],” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said.

During the Crimson’s 13-4 run out of the intermission, Forte couldn’t get on track, as he missed a three-pointer and a layup within the first three minutes. After a Norman layup gave Harvard its largest lead of the contest, 41-31 with 15:46 remaining, Forte finally seemed to break through, hitting a trifecta and a jumper and dishing out an assist on a three-pointer by forward Luke Ruscoe.

The brief flurry would be Forte’s last, as he failed to notch a field goal over the last 12:45 of the game and went just 1-of-2 on his lone trip to the free-throw line down the stretch.

“[Forte] can take the game over off the dribble, but Jason [Norman] did a fabulous job—not just a great job, but a fabulous job—getting into him,” Sullivan said. “[He] really had a bead on him, and he really had his footwork down.

“We could guard their plays, but we knew if we didn’t keep Forte in check it wouldn’t make any difference, because he’s certainly one of the toughest covers in the league.”

Norman, meanwhile, began to take over the game offensively for the Crimson. He began to drive to the basket and recorded six straight Harvard points—including a jumper and two layups set up by creative moves in the paint.

His last layup put the Crimson up 54-43 with 8:08 to play, and Harvard would hold the double-digit advantage until Brown forward Mark MacDonald connected on a jumper with 52 seconds left that cut the lead to nine.

Just 30 seconds later, with the Crimson comfortably ahead by 12, Cusworth pulled down a defensive rebound and found Norman streaking down the court. The long pass found its way to Norman, who eased into his pre-dunk gait and went up for the two-handed jam. A hard foul by the Bears’ Mark McAndrew kept Norman from making that rim-rocking statement, but his two subsequent free-throws allowed him to make a stronger one.

Norman finished the game with 12 points. Forte could muster just 10.

Give round one to the Jason from Harvard.

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