Harvard Keeps Pace With Victory Over Brown

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--The Harvard men's basketball team washed away the lingering effects of a brutal loss in New Haven with one half of near-flawless play on Saturday night, jumping on Brown early to key a blowout 75-58 win at the Pizzitola Center.

The victory moved the Crimson to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in the Ivy League, and was crucial to keeping its title hopes alive during a tough opening stretch that sees Harvard play five of its first six league games on the road.

After suffering through what was likely the most emotionally draining loss of the year on Friday night versus Yale, Harvard responded by pushing the Bears (6-11, 2-2) around their own gym. The Crimson outscored Brown 45-23 in the first 20 minutes of play, effectively ending the game by halftime.

"Clearly, [it was] just great to bounce back after a tough loss last night," Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. "It was great to see us get into rhythm-I think that was the thing that was disturbing last night to us, was that we never got any real rhythm."

Junior shooting guard Jim Goffredo, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday, was feeling that rhythm more than any other player on the court. Goffredo scored 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a Harvard second-best all-time eight three pointers, and destroyed Brown's defense with an unconscious first half, shooting 7-of-8 from three point range to finish with 22 of Harvard's 45 points at the break.

With 7:16 remaining in the half and Harvard leading 19-12, Goffredo unleashed a stunning perimeter barrage, hitting five consecutive three-pointers and adding a free throw to outscore Brown 16-3 over the next three minutes, turning a seven point game into a 35-15 laugher.

"We have to do a better job knowing where he is. To start the game he didn't get too many open looks, but then we lost track of him," Brown coach Glen Miller said. "He got hot-he flat out can shoot the ball."

All five of Goffredo's long balls in the run were assisted, with three of the makes being aided by freshman point guard Drew Housman. After a rough night against Yale in which the rowdy Bulldogs' student section continually taunted him, Housman responded with perhaps his best all-around game of the year. He compiled a career-high nine assists against just one turnover to set up the Crimson's hot hands, and added four rebounds and six points on 2-of-4 shooting.

"He was a little bit down in shoot-around. We just chatted a little bit and continued to reiterate how much confidence we have in him handling these situations," Sullivan said. "I think he showed some resiliency today, and certainly when guys make shots your assists go up."

Housman and Goffredo's two-man game in the first half was aided by Brown's 2-3 zone defense, which was designed to collapse upon the interior to prevent captain Matt Stehle and junior center Brian Cusworth from hurting the smaller Bears inside. While the zone didn't slow down Stehle, who finished with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, it allowed Goffredo to find open spots on the perimeter and wait for the dish from inside.

"One of the reasons you go to zone is to stop the inside play," Goffredo said. "Towards the end of the half the big guys did a great job of setting screens on the outside players-Matt set a couple of great screens and I got wide open looks in the corner."

While the offense was rolling-the team shot 52% from the floor and 9-of-10 from the line in the first half, and got nine points each from Stehle and senior forward Michael Beal in addition to Goffredo's outburst-it was the Crimson's swarming defense that turned the game into a rout.

Brown shot 9-of-23 from the floor in the first half, including just 2-of-9 from long range, and Harvard grabbed 12 defensive rebounds in 14 opportunities to keep the Bears to one possession and out.

"As far as our offensive execution, Harvard with a little bit of pressure on the ball [and] pressure in the passing lanes took us out of the continuity of our sets, and then it just spiraled, and hurt us defensively too," Miller said.

"It was definitely one of the most complete halves we've played," Goffredo added.

Harvard, which put it on cruise control in the second half, received a strong game from Beal, who finished with the nine points to go along with six rebounds and three steals, while Cusworth contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Brown was led by forward Keenan Jeppesen, who scored 12 of his team-high 18 in the second half, while center Mark MacDonald added 16.

The Crimson now stands tied in second place in the Ivy standings with Yale, trailing league favorite Penn's 2-0 mark. Harvard continues its road trip next Friday by traveling to Manhattan to take on Columbia.

--Staff writer Caleb W. Peiffer can be reached at cpeiffer@fas.harvard.edu.