Cornell Torches Harvard; Losing Streak Hits Eight

With three seconds left in the first half, freshman point guard Drew Housman went coast to coast and hit a lay up as time expired.

Sandwiched around that play were two halves completely dominated by Cornell, as the Big Red crushed Harvard 71-44 Friday night at Lavietes Pavilion, holding the Crimson to its lowest point total of the season. For Harvard (12-14, 4-9 Ivy), it was its eighth straight loss.

Cornell (12-15, 7-6 Ivy) blew the game open right from the start. The Big Red’s first five shots of the game were all threes, and all of them were good. The Crimson found themselves down ten, 12-2, before the game was four minutes old.

“I think early in the game, we were surprised by some quick handoffs,” head coach Frank Sullivan said. “They got us in rotation schemes on a couple of occasions, which led to some threes.”

Cornell made 8-of-12 three pointers in the first half and was 11-for-23 for the game. Freshmen Adam Gore and Brian Keefer each hit four threes, several from well beyond the arc, and were the high scorers for the game with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Harvard, by contrast, made only 3-of-18 of its three-point attempts and shot only 28% from the floor for the game.

Adding to the Crimson’s problems offensively were turnovers. Harvard turned the ball over twenty times on the game, and made just fourteen field goals. In the first half, the squad had nearly twice as many turnovers as field goals, thirteen to seven.

The Big Red led 37-22 at halftime and ended any thought the Crimson may have had at coming back by scoring the first six points of the second half to take a 21-point lead, 43-22. The margin would slowly grow, sometimes dipping below 20, but eventually reaching its pinnacle at 29 with 2:15 left to play.

For Harvard, junior center Brian Cusworth was the only player to record double figures in any category besides field goals attempted and minutes played. He had 11 rebounds, despite playing with a broken right hand.

“I just want to finish this year on a high note,” Cusworth said. “Injuries have been rough this year for me.”

As in past games, the Crimson faced a team that received many more contributions from its subs than Harvard did. Cornell’s bench outscored the home team’s reserves 33-2. That may change in the season’s final game.

“I think all those guys [on the bench] in the last game deserve to get some work this year,” Sullivan said. “They have all worked hard. Collectively, this had been as good a group as we have had in terms of a collaborative effort and a group of guys who believed in the service of their team by practicing hard and being part of the team unconditionally. There are a lot of guys who deserve to play.”

The Crimson finishes its season today against Columbia. If the losing streak continues against the Lions, Harvard may find itself in the Ivy League cellar.

Saturday’s game will be the final appearance for captain Matt Stehle and fellow seniors Michael Beal and Zach Martin.

“This game is real important for the seniors, more than anything,” Sullivan said. “It is important to send out the seniors the best we can, given the circumstances. They have been an excellent group of guys. They have worked diligently, they have worked hard. The three seniors, they deserve better.”

“We can’t hold back for anything,” Cusworth added. “There isn’t any Monday practice, or Monday film. This is it, for these seniors especially. We really have to leave it all on the floor.”

—Staff writer Ted Kirby can be reached at tjkirby@fas.harvard.edu.