Six Players Contribute Significantly in Victory

The Harvard men’s basketball team used a very balanced offensive performance to grind out a stunning 62-51 win over Michigan at Lavietes Pavilion—with unusual suspects leading the way.

In place of leading scorers junior guard Drew Housman, sophomore guard Jeremy Lin, and junior forward Evan Harris, it was junior guard Andrew Pusar topping the scoring charts with 12, while sophomore forward Pat Magnarelli and sophomore guard Dan McGeary each put in 11.

"We needed that," Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. "It’s obvious that unless we get that, we’re not going to be able to play well, let alone win a game against a team like Michigan. The balance was there because we shared the ball."

Lin and Harris each finished with nine, and Housman added eight. But the three top scorers on the season were able to make strong contributions in other areas: Harris led the team with eight rebounds and three blocks and recorded a career-high five assists, tying Lin for the game high.

"We had a very good week of practice moving the ball, so it was good we were able to move the ball, find the open man," Harris said. "Andrew got a bunch of wide-open layups because of ball movement."

Indeed, Pusar made use of backdoor cuts against Michigan’s 1-3-1 zone to be on the receiving end of two passes from Lin and another from Harris, helping the Crimson to a 28-22 halftime lead. He was also fouled after taking a nice pass from Housman, knocking down both free throws, and putting back one of his own misses to finish the half with 10 points.

The success on backdoor plays was ironic, considering Michigan coach John Beilein’s West Virginia team made it to the Elite Eight three years ago while relying heavily on backdoor cuts.

Pusar converted another pass from Lin into a layup early in the second half and continued to help on offense as he finished with five offense rebounds and two assists.

"I was lucky to get open baskets, but people were moving the ball, looking for me when I was cutting, everyone was going in and out," Pusar said. "It really was in every sense of the word a ‘team win’ and one of the most exciting team wins we could possibly have."

Magnarelli and McGeary each scored above their season average in helping Harvard pull off the upset. A tough Wolverines defense limited Harvard to 40.7 percent shooting from the field, but the two sophomores still went 5-for-9 and 4-for-8 from the field, respectively. McGeary was the team’s main threat from downtown, hitting three of seven shots from beyond the arc.

"No one was focused on getting their shot—we were all focused on getting the best shot," Pusar said. "We didn’t get that many open looks, so we knew we had to put some down. I think that’s reflective in Pat getting some good isolation looks in the post, and Dan getting some good open looks from three-point range."

With the game up for grabs down the stretch, Magnarelli and McGeary were at their best to help the Crimson leave Lavietes with one of the biggest wins in program history.

Trailing 45-42 with 7:53 to play and Michigan having sezied the momentum, McGeary nailed a three to tie it up— the Crimson never trailed again.

Then, with the game tied at 51 with 3:20 left, Magnarelli posted up athletic Wolverines forward DeShawn Sims for a layup that keyed Harvard’s game-ending 11-0 run. He added a fast-break layup with 19 seconds left in the game after outracing the Michigan players to a loose ball, giving Harvard a 60-51 lead and ending any hope of a Michigan comeback.
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