Terriers Dominate the Crimson

Facing a jump-shooting team on a hot streak, the Harvard men’s basketball team (3-2) was unable to fight fire with fire, falling 75-59 to Boston University (4-2) at Lavietes Pavilion last night.

The Crimson went 47 percent from the field for the game, but this was dragged down by shooting 13 percent on three-pointers. Harvard’s woes from behind the arc were exacerbated by the Terriers’ hot hands, which drained 13 triples on the way to 46 percent three-point shooting.

“They got into a really good rhythm and made some tough ones, and we struggled,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “They really shot the ball incredibly well.”

BU was led by guard Corey Lowe and forward John Holland, who combined for 37 points and seven threes. Holland also totaled seven rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Jake O’Brien posted 18 points and went 3-of-6 in three-point shooting.

Tops in scoring for the Crimson was junior guard Jeremy Lin, who ground out 17 points in 34 minutes. He was the only player for Harvard to score in double digits.

“I think we did a good job of getting shots, but for some reason they weren’t going down today,” Lin said.

The game’s sizeable final margin of victory was relatively deceiving, as the Crimson was down only seven at the break.

The Terriers threatened to pull away early in the second half, but a couple of runs allowed Harvard to keep it close, at least for a short while.

Five minutes into the second period, Lin followed up a lay-up by freshman Oliver McNally with a coast-to-coast layup of his own, keeping the deficit to single digits at 47-39. But on the ensuing possession, the Crimson turned the ball over—one of 20 on the night—which led to a BU jumper.

“We had a tough time catching and passing,” Lin said. “We were just soft with the ball. We just got to value the ball more, especially against good teams like BU.”

The Terriers took it from there, extending their lead to double digits within a minute.

A 22-6 run sparked by lapses in Harvard’s defensive rebounding helped to put away the hosts for good.

“[When trying to make a comeback] things have to go really well for you and poorly for them to make up for that differential,” Amaker said. “We were doing that, but it’s hard to keep that up. You give them a lot of credit. They stopped our runs and made some big shots to get their confidence and rhythm back.”

BU came out in a strong rhythm from the opening tip, going perfect from behind the arc for its first five attempts. The Crimson kept up with early consistent shooting, but it was unable to match the Terriers’ torrid three-point efforts. Harvard missed 14 straight shots and went without a field goal for nearly nine minutes in the first half.

One bright spot was the Crimson’s interior play, highlighted by 42 points in the paint. While freshman forward Keith Wright was hampered by double teams all night, senior forward Evan Harris contributed an impressive effort in the post, notching nine points (the team’s second most of the game). Inside moves by Harris on two consecutive possessions brought Harvard within one at 33-32 with two minutes left in the half.

Threes by Holland and Lowe, however, gave BU a 41-34 lead going into the locker room, and Harvard proved unable to claw its way back.

The Terriers’ win was their eighth straight against the Crimson, which travels to Colgate Saturday.