Seniors Break Streak in Ivy Finale

Harvard came in like a lamb and came out with a win over the Lions.

The Crimson (13-14, 5-9 Ivy) snapped an eight-game league losing streak with a 69-64 victory over Columbia (11-16, 4-10) Saturday at Lavietes Pavilion on an emotional Senior Night. It was the first season-ending triumph for Harvard in four years and prevented the squad from slipping into the Ivy League cellar.

The team’s three seniors, starting together for only the second time this season, catapulted Harvard to an early 18-6 lead. Captain Matt Stehle helped stave off a Lions comeback with a monstrous and poignant dunk late in the second half to seal the win and cap a storied four-year career in Cambridge.

“We were saying before the game,” senior forward Zach Martin said. “Every last game we’ve had we’ve lost. So just going out on a good note would be great.”

The Crimson fashioned its early edge in the opening 9:05, thanks mostly to the efforts of its trio of veterans: Stehle, Martin, and swingman Michael Beal. Stehle scored or assisted on all but two of the first 18 points, racking up six points and four assists, Martin dialed up two three-pointers in the first five minutes, and Beal added a bucket to stake Harvard to a beginning that was a far cry from the initial deficit it faced against Cornell the night before.

“I think everybody’s acutely aware that [starting slow has] been an Achilles heel of ours recently,” Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. “It certainly was more dramatic last night than any night this season.”

The Crimson took a 37-27 advantage into halftime, then took Columbia’s best punch coming out of the gates in the second half. Columbia, on the strength of a 14-2 run to open the half, even took a brief two-point edge with 13:22 remaining before a resilient Harvard unit tied the game at 42. With seven straight points from shooting guard Jim Goffredo, the Crimson surged to a 49-42 lead it would not surrender.

For all of the exploits of the seniors on the final nights of their careers, it was a junior, Goffredo, who led the way for the Crimson offensively—scoring a game-high 22 points and connecting on 5-of-9 from three-point range. After misfiring on his first three attempts from the floor and two tries from distance, Goffredo found his stroke late in the first half and continued to stretch out the Columbia defense, going a perfect 3-for-3 from long range in the second half.

“Jimmy’s been working hard all season,” Stehle said. “And defenses have definitely made him their number one priority...doing everything they can do to slow him down and it’s good to see him go off.”

Stehle punctuated the revival with a two-handed throw-down with 2:54 left in the game that pushed the score to a comfortable 59-52. In a customarily balanced performance, Stehle finished the game with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.

“I was cherry-picking on the play,” Stehle said of the dunk. “So I’m sure if they had scored I would have gotten chewed out. But it was nice, a good way to close it, and definitely something I’ll remember when I think of this game.”

Another key facet of the contest for Harvard was its perimeter defense. It held the Lions to 6-of-24 three-point shooting, including an abysmal 3-for-19 mark from its starters.

“It makes such a big difference when your hard work is rewarded,” said Beal, who had team-highs of six rebounds and five assists on the night. “It helps you out. And, more importantly, the misses allowed us to get out in fast break.”

Justin Armstrong paced Columbia with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Nwachukwu chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.